• Arthur Abraham v Paul Smith

Smith: Abraham is past his best

Paul Smith, left, believes Arthur Abraham will be a tough but beatable opponent on Saturday © Getty Images

Enlarge

Paul Smith believes Arthur Abraham is past his best and he is meeting him at the right time for the WBO world super-middleweight fight at the Sparkassen-Arena in Kiel, Germany, on Saturday.

The Liverpool boxer, who will have the support of 2,000 travelling fans in Germany, is underdog for his first world title shot but believes three-time world champion Abraham has had better days.

Abraham, 34, defends his belt for the second time of his second reign as WBO champion after defeats to German Robert Stieglitz, world No.1 Andre Ward and Nottingham's IBF-WBA champion Carl Froch in the last four years.

Smith, 31, believes those defeats and recent performances are proof that Abraham is in decline.

"The boxer in me and the person who is fighting Abraham would say that he is still the fighter he was before he fought Carl Froch but the pundit in me says no, not at all," Smith told ESPN. "Anyone can see that.

"But he is still going to be an exceptional fighter, he is still going to be quality. He has won three or four world titles and has had 18 or 19 world title fights, and you don't do that unless you are quality. He has proven that time and time again.

"It's down to his age and also his status and I don't know if he is as hungry as other fighters.

"He's taken people lightly in the past and I'm a voluntary defence and this is my first world title fight so hopefully he sees me as just another opponent."

While Smith argues Abraham is in decline, he believes he has never been better after reviving a career that looked as though it would never see him fighting for a world title.

Smith, who has three younger brothers who are also professional boxers, has got his career back on track with four successive wins after stoppage losses to British rivals James DeGale in 2010 and George Groves in 2011 seemed to end his hopes of fighting the world's best, while he only boxed once in 2012.

"I feel I've improved a lot under [my trainer] Joe Gallagher since those defeats," Smith told ESPN.

"Success breeds success. I'm in the gym every day with the likes of Scott Quigg, Anthony Crolla along with all the good lads in the gym including my brothers and I have to be at the top of my game just to keep up with them all. Them having success, we all thrive on it and there's always a friendly competitive nature in the gym. They want to do well and I want them to do well as well.

"I'm 100% better than when I fought James DeGale, but against George Groves I was in great shape and I was warming up nicely into the fight until I just walked onto a great shot.

"Winning the world title would wipe away those defeats from my slate and my career is not going to revolve around those two defeats and maybe I could get a rematch with them both. I would like to get a rematch with them not because of who they are, because they are decent lads, but because I want to win world titles."

Smith is dreaming of a scenario where all four world super-middleweight titles are in British hands next year.

He said: "If Froch vacates the IBF title, then DeGale fights for it and wins it, George Groves wins the WBC and I win the WBO, Britain would have all four world titles next year. There would be some big fights then which would be better than when Benn and Eubank were around."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd