Smith has knocked-out 13 of his 23 opponents (Getty)

American trainer Buddy McGirt believes Liverpool's Paul Smith Jnr has the talent to become a world champion.

The unbeaten 25-year-old middleweight makes the first defence of his English title against Coventry's Steven Bendall in Birmingham on Saturday night.

McGirt told BBC Radio Merseyside: "Paul has a lot of talent [but] he still has a few things to work on.

"I foresee him definitely in the future being a world champion. I keep telling him the power you have is God-gifted."

The two men linked up following Smith's appearance on US reality television programme The Contender.

[Amir Khan] has the potential to become a champion in a couple of weight classes - you can see that the potential is there Buddy McGirt

"Guys that can punch ... always look for that one punch because they know if they land it, they're gonna get you out of there.

"I just keep telling him let your hands flow and you can make it so much easier."

Smith boxes on the undercard of Amir Khan's Commonwealth lightweight title defence against Michael Gomez at Birmingham's National Indoor Arena.

Khan is in the process of looking for a new full-time trainer after splitting with Oliver Harrison. The Olympic silver medallist has indicated he would be prepared to move to the United States to train.

And McGirt admits Khan is a fighter who interests him. "I think the kid has a lot of talent," he said.

"He has the potential to become a champion in a couple of weight classes - you can see that the potential is there."

McGirt also trains New Yorker Paulie Malignaggi, Ricky Hatton's next scheduled opponent.

He says he is confident of his fighter's chances against Hatton. "He is going to beat him and it's not going to be as hard as people think."