By Tim Royner: Callum Smith could be on the verge of breaking away with Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn just when he signed Gennady Golovkin and Billy Joe Saunders for potential big fights. Callum’s trainer Joe Gallagher revealed that they’re “considering” offers from rival promoters that could lead to “big fights”.
If Smith, 29, leaves Matchroom now, he could miss out potentially on fights against GGG and Saunders. However, Hearn hasn’t made any of those fights happen for Callum, and he’s withering away and wasting his prime. Some boxing fans believe that Hearn has done a poor job of promoting Callum, as he should be a big star by now. As such, it’s not surprising that Smith is considering offers from other promoters.
It’s no secret that WBA Super World super middleweight champion Smith (26-0, 19 KOs) has languished on the sidelines since winning the World Boxing Super Series tournament last September. In the last 11 months, Callum has fought just once in beating 35-year-old former WBA ‘regular’ middleweight champion Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam by a 3rd round knockout on June 1. The Smith-N’Dam fight took place on the Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. undercard.
Callum Smith considering offers says trainer Gallagher
“Callum has a few lucrative offers on the table. He is considering them because they could lead to big fights. His head has been turned,” said Gallagher to skysports.com.
Hearn says he’s going to have Callum back inside the ring in October, and then bring him back for a huge fight in the spring. That match will take place at Anfield in Liverpool. A fight between Callum and Saunders or Gennady Golovkin is what Hearn has in mind, but it takes more than talk to make those fights happen.
🎥 #Throwback to our Season I Super-Middleweight Final between @StGeorgeGroves vs @CallumSmith23! 🔥🔥#ThrowbackThursday #GrovesSmith 🏆 #AliTrophy pic.twitter.com/RLLbcTJoOf
— World Boxing Super Series (@WBSuperSeries) July 4, 2019
Callum Smith leaving Matchroom would be a shocker
It would be a brutal blow to Hearn if Callum departed from his Matchroom stable without fighting Saunders, Golovkin or Saul Canelo Alvarez. Those are all fights that Hearn would like to make, but he’s mostly been doing a lot of lip service so far. Hearn has talked a lot of wanting to match Callum against Canelo, Golovkin and Saunders, but he’s done nothing.
“We are planning Callum’s next fight for October time before a huge fight in the spring, most likely at Anfield,” Hearn said to skysports.com.
There are a lot of fighters at 168 that Smith should be fighting. Here’s a short list:
- Chris Eubank Jr.
- Billy Joe Saunders
- Caleb Plant
- David Benavidez
- Anthony Dirrell
- Saul Canelo Alvarez
- David Lemieux
- Peter Quillin
- Caleb Truax
- Jose Uzcategui
It’s troubling that Hearn hasn’t matched Callum against even one of those fighters at this point. If Callum signs with Premier Boxing Champions, he’ll be position to fight the big names at 168. Unlike Hearn, PBC will keep Callum busy fighting the likes of Benavidez, Uzcategui, Plant and Quillin.