Two British fighters have career-defining fights this month against world class opposition.

Liverpool’s Paul Smith prepares to face Arthur Abraham in Berlin on February 21 in a WBO super middleweight world title rematch. 

Their first clash in September, also in Germany, ended in Abraham retaining the title with a controversial points decision.

Many watching felt that Smith did more than enough to get the decision first time round, putting in a career-best performance against the Armenian champion, a veteran whose record is peppered with some of the best middleweights and super middleweights in recent years.

After the fight, a clearly emotional Smith said of the decision: “What can you do? How could I have won one round? It’s the one thing I hate about judges, they are robbing people of lifetime opportunities. It just shattered my world there.”

Smith’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, went so far as to describe the decision as a “disgrace,” a description that most British commentators and boxing writers concurred with. 

The upcoming rematch is evidence that the decision raised more questions than answers.

Carl Froch put in a career-best performance of his own when he comprehensively outboxed Abraham back in 2010 in Helsinki to reclaim the WBC title he had lost to Mikkel Kessler, which Abraham subsequently won. 

Despite losing to Froch, however, Abraham has an impressive 10 successful world title defences to his name and the advantage of fighting in his adopted home country, long considered a notoriously difficult part of the world for any non-German or German-domiciled fighter to come and win on points.

Five years on and Abraham at 34 is a fighter who relies on experience more than any other factor in the ring. In the latter rounds against Smith he appeared tired and bedraggled as the popular Liverpudlian came on strong. 

His performance was all the more impressive given that he was a massive underdog going into the fight and hardly anyone gave him a prayer. 

Abraham’s camp believe the first fight was a case of their man taking Smith too lightly and are confident that things will be put right second time round. But Smith has the bit between the teeth and will be taking a sizeable following over to the fight from Liverpool. 

The 31-year-old is a popular figure in British boxing, establishing a successful second career as one of the most articulate and insightful boxing pundits around. 

In preparation for his upcoming fight he’s been sparring with Chris Eubank Jnr and other top British talent. 

Trained by Joe Gallagher out of his Bolton base, Paul is the oldest of the famed Smith brothers, each of whom is making a mark in the sport.

With it being likely that he will never again get the opportunity to fight for a world title, come February 21 the Liverpudlian will enter the ring determined to lay it all on the line with the objective of returning home with the belt that he and his supporters feel is rightly his.

On February 22, meanwhile, the very next night after Smith’s clash against Abraham, Martin Murray comes face to face with the most talked about world champion fighting today in the shape of Gennady Golovkin, the current WBA and IBO middleweight champion. 

Golovkin, originally from Kazakhstan but now based in Germany, carries phenomenal power, evidenced in an unbeaten record over 31 fights which includes 28 victories by way of KO.

Known as triple-G, the 32-year-old’s babyfaced looks belie a fighter of fearsome reputation and Murray will have to be at his absolute best when they meet in Monaco.

That said, the St Helens native carries impressive power himself, which combined with a massive engine and the heart of a true warrior makes this for me one of the most intriguing fights for some time. 

Murray also has the experience of fighting a pound-for-pound champion in their own backyard to draw upon.

 His 2013 clash against Argentina’s Sergio Martinez in Buenos Aires saw him push Martinez all the way over 12 epic rounds before going down to the only loss in a career of 31 fights to date. 

Murray’s courage that night was of a rare sort, leaving no doubt that up to this point he has gone criminally under appreciated and unrecognised as one of the best fighters Britain has at present. 

If Golovkin and his team believe that it is going to be a formality in Monaco, they are in for a shock. 

Despite the luxurious surroundings, Murray will be coming for a good old fashioned tear-up, fully intent on taking his opponent apart. 

A former top and experienced Scottish middleweight, who shall remain nameless but who’s sparred with the very best in the world, found this out when his services were hired to help get Murray ready for the Martinez fight. 

Murray proceeded to almost cut said Scottish middleweight in half with a body shot in the very first round of their first sparring session, whereupon he was sent home on the next train, nursing sore ribs and pondering his future in the hardest and most unforgiving sport of them all.

The hardest opponent any fighter faces in the ring is himself. Overcome him and the other guy’s easy. Smith and Murray have what it takes to win against both in their upcoming fights. 

They each exemplify the very best of British boxing and have earned their shots after long, hard careers during which nothing has been handed to them on a plate.