Liverpool middleweight Smith wants British title shot

Smith is a former British super-middleweight champion

Liverpool's Paul Smith Jnr says he is targeting major domestic honours in the middleweight division.

Smith, 28, fights for the second time at 11st 6lb on September 17, after moving down in weight following defeat to James DeGale last December.

"I had my last fight and I'll have this fight to be ranked at middleweight," Smith told BBC Radio Merseyside.

"The board will then probably make me mandatory challenger for the British and Commonwealth titles."

Smith, who won and then successfully defended the British super-middleweight title once, says the move back to middleweight was inevitable.

"At the time I was British super-middleweight champion and you don't want to hear it when people are saying you can do middleweight.

"I was thinking 'I can do this at super-middleweight, so why not stay here?'

"Now the title has gone [following defeat to DeGale] I can move to the proper weight where I should be," added Smith.

Smith's desire to clean up domestically could put him on a collision course with St Helens' Martin Murray, the current holder of the British and Commonwealth titles.

The two men share a mutual respect and Smith says if they do meet it will only be if there are titles at stake.

"People keep asking Martin about me and people keep asking me about Martin.

"If I get nominated to fight for the British and Commonwealth titles, then unless he vacates we're fighting.

"It's not Martin Murray that I'm screaming out for, it's the titles," said Smith.