'I'm just arriving!' - Barney-Smith eyes world-level lift-off against Bellotti

"I was in Miami about two weeks after my last fight," he laughs. "I had a call off Frank Warren, and he asked if I wanted to fight!"

Barney-Smith did. Freshly minted as the new British and Commonwealth super-featherweight champion, he was eager to go again.

It has not been the smoothest of paths to this weekend's bout with Reece Bellotti though. Boxing does like to throw a curveball.

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"I was meant to fight Jono Carroll," he recalls. "One thing led to another, I was fighting him, then not fighting him. I just stayed in camp."

At Dublin's 3Arena, on the Pierce O'Leary-Mark Chamberlain undercard, Barney-Smith has the chance to nab his biggest scalp yet.

There is plenty of respect and admiration for his opponent. The star has been raised that way. "Reece is a good fighter. He's no pushover."

But Barney-Smith knows the tide is shifting . "He's coming to the end of his career," he adds, then grins. "I'm just arriving for world stage lift-off.

'I'm on the right track to be world champion'

Twenty-two last January, the Poole-born fighter is one of the leading lights of a new British generation with big designs on international matters.

While Moses Itauma continues to tear a path through the heavyweight division, the rest are eager to throw off their domestic shackles as well.

In Barney-Smith's case, punching his ticket against Bellotti - a former Lonsdale Belt holder himself - is the kind of marquee matter to attend to.

"I'm the British and Commonwealth champion, and I'm on the right track to be world champion very soon," he states when asked about his foe.

"This is a fight that I have to take for myself at this precise moment, against a good level of opposition. He's fought against a lot of good fighters."

Bellotti has indeed done the hard yards. He has crossed path with his fair share of top talent, ranging from Raymond Ford to Josh Padley and beyond.

Leigh Dawney/ Queensberry

Nevertheless, Barney-Smith believes his own improvements across the past year will stand him in good stead, adding: "I've learned how to stay more composed.

"I'm working on my strength, speed and power. I know how to use them better know. I'm just becoming a better all-around fighter. I feel good, prepared, ready."

'Nothing really is different for me'

Barney-Smith's stock is already strong. Both the IBF and WBO have him favourably ranked already, and other top foes likely await if he wins in Dublin.

But he is determined to take nothing for granted, especially for what will be his first trip to the Emerald Isle as a professional following his amateur days.

"I boxed six times against Ireland as an amateur, a couple of times there," he notes. "They've got the only arena built specifically for amateur boxing in the world."

Is there an Irish fighter he particularly finds himself inspired by? He stares off into space for a moment. "Pierce is good. But Mick Conlan was the biggest for me."

It will be that spirit the star bids to emulate at the 3Arena. Barney-Smith is unfazed by the occasion of another five-figure-capacity show, pushing on for success.

"Nothing really is different for me," he adds. "It's the same goal, to get the win in the best way I can. Big halls or small halls, I'm still putting the same amount of effort in."

Should Bellotti be conquered then, the sky is the limit. Barney-Smith is back to the gym - "I just need to get my cardio in" - and keeping his feet on the ground.

But he knows exactly what he wants in a year - and where too. "This time next year, I wouldn't mind being world champion," he notes, then quips: "In Miami!"

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