Trainer Joe Gallagher believes the WBO light-heavyweight title fight between his charge Callum Johnson and champion Joe Smith Jr. will be action-packed.

The Manchester coach heads out to New York with Johnson this weekend ahead of the bout upstate at the Turning Stone Casino in Verona on January 15 for what will be Johnson’s second attempt at a world title after his up-and-down thriller with Artur Beterbiev in 2018.

“When the fight was announced, I looked social media timelines and people were saying ‘This is a war, three rounds at most, four rounds for Smith, three rounds for Johnson…’ and it was a good reaction and it got me excited for it,” said Gallagher. “Callum can box as well, as can Joe Smith. Joe is on a really good run of form since he lost to [Dmitriy] Bivol and his confidence is high and there’s talk of Canelo fighting Beterbiev, Joe Smith or Bivol, so Smith will be hugely-motivated by that but this fight is just two honest, highly-motivated kids who are fighting for a world title. It’s a throwback eighties-type light-heavyweight fight, two solid guys who are going to go in there and just put it all on the line.”

Long Island’s Smith has won three on the bounce since Bivol, defeating Jesse Hart, Maxim Vlasov and Eleider Alvarez while Johnson has also won three times since his loss to Beterbiev. Gallagher rates Smith highly.

“Joe Smith is a good fighter,” stated the coach. “After studying him and watching him, Joe Smith Jr. is better than people give him credit for. Good fighter, came up the hard way, had a couple of early setbacks in his career against good fighters, regrouped, came back and he’s got a good workrate, punches well to the body and everything’s off the jab, good right hook, good left hook, good right uppercut… He’s a good all-round fighter and it’s going to gel for a great fight with two kids who are going to go at it.”

This could be Johnson’s last chance. The 36-year-old has had his fair share of bad luck in the pros, struggling with political fallouts, inactivity and much more besides, but Gallagher feels the stars might just be aligning for his man.

“Listen, every camp has its problems…” Joe continued. “Good days sparring, bad days sparring, no fighter has the perfect camp, they have niggles here, there and everywhere but Callum has trained really well. He’s hugely motivated and he can’t wait. It’s a great opportunity for him.”

Does Johnson have the belief that this is his time?

“Hundred per cent,” Gallagher added. “He has his reasons for wanting to be a world champion and things he wants to do and all he wants to do is become a world champion. I feel that at his age he wouldn’t want to be involved with boxing with everything he’s gone through to not become a world champion. He could have said, ‘I’m sick of this, I’m calling it a day,’ but he’s got a low mileage, he’s still ambitious and as we saw with Kiko Martinez and Kid Galahad, punchers never lose their punch. This is his second bite at the cherry and there won’t be another one after this if he doesn’t beat Joe Smith Jr, so it’s all or nothing. Frank Warren [Johnson’s promoter], Top Rank, Star Boxing who Joe Smith is with, it’s just a great opportunity for Callum. From being in the wilderness for a while to come back, everyone questioned the decision this time last year when Callum switched back over to Frank [from Matchroom] – who he started with – but Frank promised he’d deliver him a world title shot and he has. Everyone’s done the job and Callum’s looking forward to getting in there and giving it his best shot.”

And Johnson, who has scored 14 stoppage wins in his 20 victories against the lone Beterbiev loss, is experienced. Not only was he a decorated amateur but he’s boxed at the Turning Stone before and he knows what it’s like to challenge for a major belt. He’s also learned as he’s gone on.

“With Callum in the past, when we’ve talked about the Beterbiev fight, he says, ‘I just remember knocking him down and then just following him around the ring,’ thinking he’d just knocked him down and before he knew it, the round had gone,” Gallagher went on. “It’s something where he said, ‘Why didn’t I just go in like I did against [Frank] Buglioni [who he stopped in a round] and everybody else and I think lessons have been learned from that.

“[Also] We’ve been there [Turning Stone] before. It’s the same venue where Joe Smith fought Bivol, Callum fought Seanie Monaghan on the same show and they were both at the International Boxing Hall of Fame and took pictures together so it’s familiar territory and Joe Smith did well in that fight. Bivol outboxed him but Joe Smith caught him late on in that fight, so there’s a familiarity there already. We half know what to expect.”

It sets the tone for a typically busy year for Gallagher, who two weeks later will be in the opposite corner from Argentine great Sergio Martinez.

“That’s a proper Rocky Balboa-Apollo Creed-type of fight,” Joe said of Macaulay McGowan taking on the middleweight legend. Gallagher actually boxed with McGowan’s dad on the same show in the amateurs, and after Madrid the work will go on for Gallagher.

“Natasha Jonas is back in the gym and she’s hoping for a big fight soon,” he added. “Paul Butler, we’re just waiting on a new date and venue for the [John Riel] Casimero fight, Callum Thompson is due out again soon, Marcus Morrison will be out in March-April and I spoke to Charlie Edwards last night, he’s going to Portugal and then he’s looking for a date in March-April. I was really pleased with his performance just before the end of the year [beating Jacob Barreto in two rounds] and he’s settled in really well.

“This is Callum Johnson’s second time at a world title, Tasha Jonas will be looking for one, Paul Butler will be looking for one, Charlie Edwards will be looking for one, so I’ve got like four fighters that will be fighting or world titles in 2022 as well as other prospects coming through as well.”