By Charles Brun: Callum Smith figures he’ll be ready for the fights against the big names in boxing after he defends his WBA Super World 168-lb title on November 23 against his mandatory challenger John Ryder. Smith believes that the best way for him to lure the big names to fight him is by having a world title.
Despite winning the World Boxing Super Series tournament a year ago in beating George Groves, the big fights haven’t come Callum’s way.
Hearn hasn’t delivered the big fights for Callum
You can blame Smith’s promoter Eddie Hearn for him not getting the big money fights that he so badly covets against Gennadiy Golovkin and Saul Canelo Alvarez. Hearn hasn’t delivered the fights that the 29-year-old Callum wants and needs for him to become a star in the sport. While it’s believed by many that the 6’3″ Smith is the best fighter at 168, he’s not become a big name.
Having a world title hasn’t changed ANYTHING for Smith, as he’s still not getting the big matches that he craves. Hearn does a lot of talking about wanting to match Smith against WBO super middleweight champion Billy Joe Saunders, but that’s not a big fight. To become a star, Callum needs to branch out to fight dangerous guys.
Saunders is not a star. He’s a guy that has been matched selectively against mediocre opposition through most of his 10-year career. The fights that Callum needs is against these guys:
- Canelo Alvarez
- Gennadiy Golovkin
- Daniel Jacobs
- Jermall Charlo
- Gilberto Ramirez
Callum focused on getting the big fights – but SHUTOUT
Callum is defending his WBA super middleweight Ryder (28-4, 16 KOs) at the Echo Arena in Liverpool, England. DAZN is streaming the fight in the U.S, and Sky Sports is showing it in the UK.
“I want the big fights, I want the superstar names and the only chance of me getting them is by having a world title, so I’ve got to keep my belt for as long as I can,” said Smith via Fight News. “John Ryder poses a big threat. He wants to take what I’ve worked so hard for. I worked hard to win my world title and I’ve got to work even harder to keep it now.”
Smith might not want to admit it, but he’s probably going to need to move up to 175 to get the bigger fights. He’s likely being avoided by the super middleweights because they view him as a boiled down light heavyweight. You’re not going to get volunteers from the top 160 and 168-lb fighters to face you. Just imagine Artur Beterbiev or Dmitry Bivol boiling down from 175 to fight at 168. They would be avoided like the plague by the top fighters.
Callum says he beats everyone at 168
“I just think the best version of me beats any super middleweight on the planet,” said Callum.
It’s probably true that Callum beats all the top fighters at super middleweight, but they’re not going to fight him. He needs to get a clue and move up to 175 to fight against guys his own size like Beterbiev, Sergey Kovalev, Oleksandr Gvozdyk and Bivol.
The only thing Callum can do is take a risk with his career by moving up to light heavyweight to start fighting guys his own size. He may not like it, but he’s never going to be a star if he stays at 168. Guys don’t want to fight light heavyweight-sized super middleweights. Callum is in the same sitiation as former welterweight talent Paul Williams was in many years ago.
The lanky 6’1″ Williams was ignored by the other top welterweights like Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao. So instead of wasting his career at 147, Williams moved up to 154 to broaden his horizons. Although Williams never captured a world title at 154, he at least finally got important fights against Sergio Martinez and Erislandy Lara.