Adam Booth insists he and Josh Kelly are not relying on a perceived decline in Liam Smith when setting their September 21 date at Wembley.

Their middleweight bout was an unexpected part of the undercard for the IBF heavyweight title fight between Anthony Joshua and champion Daniel Dubois, and was widely seen as an attempt by Booth and Kelly to capitalize on Smith’s reputation, a year after his rematch with Chris Eubank Jr. ended in a one-sided loss.

The fact that Smith’s only previous loss by stoppage came at the peak of his physical condition against the great Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in 2016 made it tempting for Eubank Jr. to conclude that his career at the highest level was over.

However, he was battling an ankle injury that night which hampered his preparations and this is partly why Booth’s thoughts are at the forefront – Smith, 36, has since stated that Kelly wants to “end” his career.

If it’s tempting to draw comparisons between that September fight and the one in 2021, when Kelly was stopped by David Avanesyan in his biggest test, it’s equally tempting to draw a comparison to when Smith stopped the younger, fresher Anthony Fowler just eight months later.

Booth has typically proven to be an astute judge of when to challenge his fighters in more dangerous, high-stakes encounters, but by his own admission, the loss to Avanesyan reminded him of the time the aging Carl Thompson unexpectedly stopped David Haye.

As with Haye that night in 2004, the trainer believes the 30-year-old Kelly has learned from the causes of his defeat. He expects Smith to pose a greater threat than before in both victory and defeat against Eubank Jr. He also believes that Kelly – even in his first fight at middleweight – will be ready for whatever happens should Smith retain so much of what has given him such a successful career.

“Liam is experienced,” Booth told BoxingScene. “He’s tough. He’s raw. There’s a very, very subtle intelligence behind a style that could undermine that intelligence. I know what Liam is and I see Liam Smith at his best. I know he says he thinks we’re getting him at the right time. I don’t think we’re getting him at the right time because Liam died – I think it’s the right time because Josh is stepping up and that’s all.

“At some point you have to test yourself in fights like this and I know Josh is ready for that now. I knew he was ready for Avenesyan as a fighter but as a person and mentally he wasn’t ready for it so I learned more as well. My making this fight is my belief in Josh – it has nothing to do with whether Liam is on the rise, going down or staying the same. I look at his habits and things; I look at the best Liam Smith. Not the one who had injury problems before his last fight against Chris Eubank Jr.

“The first fight, he was comfortably outmatched by Liam, and in the corner you could hear (Smith’s trainer) Joe McNally worried that Liam wasn’t doing what he was supposed to be doing, and you could hear that concern, and then Liam went in, threw it, got a combination off and got rid of him. In the second fight, Eubank Jr. was basically moving and grabbing; moving and grabbing and just kept hitting until the uppercuts landed. In the second fight, he was very, very careful not to get hurt by someone who had gotten rid of him in the fight before – and Liam wasn’t the same fighter he was in the first fight. So I’m ignoring the second Eubank fight. I even ignored the first Eubank fight. I have to go back even further – where Liam is at his best – because we know he’s been with the best in the world.

“Josh Kelly is not Anthony Fowler. Liam Smith is Liam Smith, but Josh is not Anthony Fowler.

“I’ve been talking about this fight since January. After Josh’s last fight (the Placido Ramirez stoppage in December), it’s about getting the ‘big name’ fights and moving forward. He’s 30 years old; he’s at his best. There were four names. Chris Eubank Jr., Kell Brook, Liam Smith and Conor Benn. Those were the four, and the only one interested was Liam.”

As with so many fights organized with General Entertainment Authority money, the date between Smith and Kelly was seemingly agreed without much advance notice, but Booth said: “It took some time and then there was a discussion about weight, but let’s be honest – Josh is a big super welterweight now. When you see him now, you’ll recognize that.”

“Liam Smith is a strong, experienced, tough, tough and skilled super welterweight but he’s at an age where it’s difficult to get down there – but in the ring there won’t be a huge weight difference between them for a number of reasons. The fight makes perfect sense and was no surprise to me because he was one of the four we identified. They’ve fought a couple of times so they’ve both had a bit of an opportunity to see each other. That was probably two years ago – maybe longer.

“I like Liam. I like his family. I think his family is extraordinary for what they have achieved (brothers Paul, Stephen and Callum have had successful boxing careers and Stephen has become a trainer). I have had George Groves fight Paul Smith and now I have had Josh Kelly fight Liam Smith and I know they know boxing so I expect Liam to turn up because he knows what Josh is and knows boxing well enough. For Josh to test his skills against someone who has been in the ring with ‘Canelo’ Alvarez – imagine how exciting that must be for him. I am delighted the fight is happening. I understand all the reasons why it is happening.

“The reason Josh lost to David Avenesyan had nothing to do with his skill, nothing to do with his physical ability. It was all the mental issues (he struggled with hypochondria) he had in his life, and they were issues we only found out about six months later when he dealt with them. But how many years ago was that now? Changing him as a man means that this fight will never happen again. So now it will be about his skills, his will, his physicality.

“A guy named Steven Green – we wouldn’t be here without him. He likes to stay in the background, but he’s a mental coach. He was in the military, served in Afghanistan (Istan), suffered from PTSD, was at rock bottom and recovered. He’s in the Guinness Book of Records for endurance activities and is also a mental coach. He’s exactly the person Josh needs. He’s the reason Josh now has the chance to reach his potential.”