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What Does The Future Hold For Callum Smith?


The_budweiser
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Last 5 Fights

 

John Ryder W

Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam W

George Groves W

Nieky Holzken W

Erik Skoglund W

 

Liverpool's Callum 'Mundo' Smith is 27-0 with 19 KO's. He holds the World Boxing Association Super World Super Middle Title and the World Boxing Council Diamond Super Middle Title.

 

He won the WBC diamond title against Erik Skoglund in 2017 defending it four times against Holzken, Groves, N'Jikam and Ryder.

 

Smith picked up the WBA title against Groves and defended it against N'Jikam and Ryder.

 

Smith became the third super-middleweight after Joe Calzaghe and Andre Ward to win The Ring title. There was four official judges' scorecards. One judge had it even after six rounds at 57–57, two judges had Groves ahead 59–55 and 58–56 and one judge had Smith ahead 59–55 - Smith won the prestigous Ali Trophy.

 

Since defeating Ryder in November 2019, Smith is yet to fight. What Does The Future Hold For Callum Smith?

 

Promoter Eddie Hearn says Canelo Alvarez could be next for the 30-year-old.

 

“I’m almost certain that Canelo Alvarez’s first choice is Callum Smith, of the people available,” Hearn told Boxing Social.

 

“Because it would make him the legitimate No.1 168-pounder if he beat him. I know Canelo loves challenges.

 

“He loves to fight the best and [fight] champions. But also Callum Smith is expensive.

 

“He’s the Ring magazine champion and WBA champion.

 

“Of course he’s going to be expensive. There’s no way around that.”

 

Hearn admitted the chances of Alvarez fighting anyone on September 12 are slim.

 

With Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez filling a lawsuit against Golden Boy Promotions and broadcaster DAZN after being unable to agree terms for his next fight it doesn't look likely that the match-up will take place in 2020. The Mexican fighter has been inactive since a World Boxing Organisation light-heavyweight title win over Russian boxer Sergey Kovalev last November.

 

David Benavidez recently called out Paul Smith.

 

"Me vs Smith is the best fight right now. I'd love the opportunity to prove that I'm number one,' said the WBC Champion.

 

So, what is next for Callum Smith?

 

Boxrec rate him as the second best fighter in the division.

 

Boxrec Ratings

 

1. Daniel Jacobs

2. Callum Smith

3. David Benavidez

4. Billy Joe Saunders

5. Fedor Chudinov*

6. Caleb Plant

7. John Ryder

8. Rocky Fielding

9. Willie Monroe Jr

10. Anthony Dirrell

 

 

 

 

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- -Seems like Callum been pricing himself out of fights.

 

Possibly...quite possibly. He hasn't been as active as he could've been for sure. :noidea: I think Benavidez would be a very good matchup and it would of course sell. Two very tall smw's who both can hit and are technically solid as well. Benavidez however throws more and Callum would have to really step on the gas to win. He should avoid much shorter and cagey fighters, and Saunders kinda fits that category.

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A lot to unpack here.

 

First of all, let's not forget that The Ring is owned by Golden Boy, which has a broadcast deal with DAZN, which also has a broadcast deal with Matchroom/Hearn. The Ring has just as big a conflict of interest as and no more credence than any of the alphabets. Which is to say little, if any. For me the lineal 168lb title is vacant with Callum and Caleb Plant the only two fighters with the strongest claims. Benavidez was also in the picture until he ate his way off the podium. Believe it or not, the title has been vacant since Andre Ward relinquished it nearly five years ago! That's how little direction this sport has. (Did I say little? That's giving the sport too much credit.)

 

But Hearn can use Callum's The Ring recognition as a negotiating tactic, and who's going to question him? Hearn's level of confidence in his fighters isn't difficult to read. He never had a great deal of confidence in Kal Yafai until his hand was forced, and he cashed Yafai out by feeding him to Chocolatito.

 

I think Hearn has a higher level of confidence in Callum, but not supreme confidence. He entered him in the WBSS tournament which was notable. But the SMW event was easily the weakest put on by the WBSS. Several top SMWs didn't participate. Callum deserves credit for winning it; Groves is his top accomplishment to date. Who's pricing Callum out of fights with the top SMWs? It's Hearn. Hearn continues to tread lightly with Callum.

 

At this stage, Callum's going to need a 'get busy' fight since he's nearing a year away. After Callum's through with whatever warm corpse Hearn can find for him, then they'll be talking a significant fight for next year. DAZN - and Hearn - are desperate for marquee fights. That's what the Canelo lawsuit is all about. DAZN rejected Canelo-Yildirim; Canelo points to their contract which was poorly crafted and gives DAZN no such authority. Hopefully all parties get together, quickly resolve that dispute and everyone moves on.

 

Perhaps next year we'll be looking at Callum-Canelo, Callum-Saunders or Callum-Jacobs. It may depend on Hearn's level of desperation to deliver DAZN a premium fight. Benavidez is largely unattainable due to the promoter divide which is near impossible to scale. PBC still envisions Plant-Benavidez even though Benavidez blew his world title and the chance to bill that fight as a unification. Unfortunately it's unlikely we'll see the PBC and Matchroom/GoldenBoy champions meet for an all-in unification. Perhaps only if Canelo emerges on one side; he may be the only one influential enough to make such a fight happen. But that's potentially a long way off, and who knows whether the current players at SMW will even still be in the division by then.

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A lot to unpack here.

 

First of all, let's not forget that The Ring is owned by Golden Boy, which has a broadcast deal with DAZN, which also has a broadcast deal with Matchroom/Hearn. The Ring has just as big a conflict of interest as and no more credence than any of the alphabets. Which is to say little, if any.

 

 

 

Having Chudinov at #5, and ahead of Caleb, no less, speaks volumes. (Although I'm not sure how that benefits Golden Boy, unless they're trying to create easy opponents for top fights.)

 

Well, it is what it is.

 

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The hype and excitement for Cullum Smith has really waned in recent years. I think he's been a victim of simply not being flashy enough for Hearn to sink his teeth into.

Eddie has been heavily focused the last few years on AJ, obviously his major cash cow, and Dazn.

A few years back there were a number of decent calibre fighters left Eddie, probably due to the lack of activity or interest in getting them fights.

Maybe that's just me seeing things that way. A lot of fighters have stayed on board and been seemingly neglected. Whyte forever crying from the sidelines. Smith happy to be coasting along.

There's also the elephant in the room that Smith was gift that decision last time out where many thought Ryder won. That performance probably further made Eddie skeptical in pushing Callum into any big name fights

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Smith is simply too big for his division. He needs to become a light heavy.

 

Absolutely agree. He 6ft 3 or thereabouts isn't he? That said once he starts moving up in weight his physical advantages lessen. He doesn't dominate with speed and skill and his power is good but not scary. I don't think he beats any of the current champs at light heavy hence he'll probably continue to boil down to 168lbs.

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Absolutely agree. He 6ft 3 or thereabouts isn't he? That said once he starts moving up in weight his physical advantages lessen. He doesn't dominate with speed and skill and his power is good but not scary. I don't think he beats any of the current champs at light heavy hence he'll probably continue to boil down to 168lbs.

 

Yep, 6'3 and he's muscular too. Looking at him, I can hardly believe he can make 168. Even for a light heavy he is big!

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Lets get real, Callum Smith isn't worth a wank in a dirty gym sock. At best, UK level. The reason he isn't busy is because he's no good. There are dozens of fights to be made at this weight, but Hearn doesn't want to risk him losing his WBA belt. The other belt isn't even worth mentioning. He took the WBA belt of Groves (pre wig) another UK level fighter, and has defended it against 2 nomarks.

 

Throw him in with Clenelo, Benavidez, Plant, BJS, Jacobs or better still, Berlanga.

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Lets get real, Callum Smith isn't worth a wank in a dirty gym sock. At best, UK level. The reason he isn't busy is because he's no good. There are dozens of fights to be made at this weight, but Hearn doesn't want to risk him losing his WBA belt. The other belt isn't even worth mentioning. He took the WBA belt of Groves (pre wig) another UK level fighter, and has defended it against 2 nomarks.

 

Throw him in with Clenelo, Benavidez, Plant, BJS, Jacobs or better still, Berlanga.

WAY too harsh old man. Sorry, I couldn't disagree more. Maybe you are judging him by his last fight. The thing is-he can be static but he also has the ability to end the fight suddenly, like we saw when he fought Groves. He doesn't always do it of course, in about 50% of his fights so far he has, but he CAN do it and not that many can. End a big fight suddenly. And that makes him always dangerous, potentially.

 

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Lets get real, Callum Smith isn't worth a wank in a dirty gym sock. At best, UK level. The reason he isn't busy is because he's no good. There are dozens of fights to be made at this weight, but Hearn doesn't want to risk him losing his WBA belt. The other belt isn't even worth mentioning. He took the WBA belt of Groves (pre wig) another UK level fighter, and has defended it against 2 nomarks.

 

Throw him in with Clenelo, Benavidez, Plant, BJS, Jacobs or better still, Berlanga.

 

I also can't agree with this.

 

Smith had some serious flaws in the past, like having a weak jab (which was offset, defensively, by his height) balance issues, and leaning his head in. But he tightened all that up in recent years. I was extremely impressed with him in both the Blackledge and Groves fights. Especially against Groves, where he almost completely shut down George's offense, and where he also shows excellent patience & ring generalship.

 

And his other qualities remain: An aggressive stalker, but without wasting much energy and never getting close enough to lose his reach advantage. Knows how to use his height defensively. Excellent counterpuncher while moving backwards. And his right hand is probably the fastest in the division, with the possible exception of Benevidez.

 

I only just now watched his fight with Ryder, and yeah he looked really off. A bit troubling. - But that's boxing. Maybe he was drained. Or sick. Or maybe Ryder just fought the perfect game plan & Smith responded wrong. (I think Smith should have been much more aggressive.) As long as he learned from that fight, then no worries.

 

He's in a pretty tough division, but I give him a very good chance of beating anyone in it. (Though my money is on Benavidez.)

Edited by Cableaddict
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  • 2 weeks later...
Eddie has some sort of working relationship with

Andrade, BJS, Smith, GGG, Bivol and yet cant seem to get any 2 of them in the ring together?

 

Best promoter in the world they say!

 

Some good match up for boxing fans....but that doesn't translate to money fights where he can get the casuals on board. But with that said, any kind of event is better than just no event at all! :rant:

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