By Sean Jones: Oscar De La Hoya of Golden Boy Promotions says Callum Smith rejected the offer for him to fight Canelo Alvarez on May 2, according to ESPN. Callum’s promoter Eddie Hearn confirmed to Dan Rafael that they turned down the initial offer from Golden Boy for the Canelo fight.
Judging by De La Hoya’s comments, it doesn’t sound like Golden Boy Promotions will be sweetening the offer like Hearn wants them to.
One problem that could make it difficult to get Callum or Billy Joe Saunders to agree to a fight with Canelo Alvarez is the purses. The Mexican star’s last two opponents Daniel Jacobs and Sergey Kovalev both received purses of $12 million to fight Canelo.
If Callum was offered only one-fourth the amount of Canelo’s last two opponents, then that could be a problem for Hearn. But if you take in the fact that Callum is much less well known to American fans than Jacobs and Kovalev, then it’s easy to see why he wouldn’t be getting the same money as them.
With those guys getting that kind of green to fight Canelo Alvarez (53-1-1, 36 KOs), it’s predictable that Hearn wants Callum to get $12 million as well.
Callum Smith’s promoter waiting for another offer
Hearn is waiting for another offer from Golden Boy for the Canelo fight. However, De La Hoya sounds like they’re moving on. De La Hoya says they’re going to continue to go down the list of potential opponents, and who turns down their offer, they’ll move.
“He’s an idiot,” De La Hoya said to ESPN.com on Callum Smith rejecting the offer for Canelo fight. “I wish him all the best. Callum Smith turned down the fight and he would have made three to four times the money he has ever made .
“We have a few opponents that we’re looking at. We’re going to go down the list. And whoever turns it down, on to the next one,” said De La Hoya.
It’s’ interesting that Callum – or Hearn – turned down an offer that was “four times” the amount of money that Smith has ever made in one of his fights before. That’s hard to believe. If Callum took the small money this time and BEAT Canelo, he would get the rematch with the Mexican star for a lot more money.
Further, Callum’s star power would go through the roof. Callum and Hearn perhaps didn’t see the big picture in what they stood to gain long term by agreeing to what was offered to them for the May 2 fight.
We don’t know if it was the money that wasn’t to Callum (27-0, 19 KOs) and Hearn’s offer for the fight or possibly a 10-lb rehydration clause for the Canelo fight. The rehydration clause is something that Hearn Smith should have ASSUMED would be part of the deal going in, as Canelo isn’t going to let himself be out-weighed by a wide margin.
Smith trainer unaware of offer for Canelo fight
Callum’s trainer Joe Gallagher wasn’t aware of any offer made by Golden Boy. It appears that Hearn failed to share the information. It would be interesting if Hearn chose not to tell Callum as well. That would be a real kicker.
What a load of bollocks @danrafaelespn speak to @EddieHearn & @DAZN_USA @JohnSkipper . Also what was the offer ?? @OscarDeLaHoya I sure this is news to @CANELOTEAM https://t.co/w64zVIs3vn
— Joe Gallagher (@JoeG) February 13, 2020
Canelo is a true middleweight, and Callum is arguably a light heavyweight in size. A rehydration would be standard operating procedures for a fight like this. In looking at how badly weight drained the 6’3″ Callum Smith looked in his last fight against John Ryderon November 23
When promoters like Eddie Hearn hear that Jacobs and Kovalev both received $12 million to fight Canelo, he’s likely thinking that Callum Smith or Saunders should have money similar to that.
Does Callum Smith want similar money that Kovalev got?
Hearn may not realize that Kovalev and Jacobs are well known in the U.S by casual and hardcore boxing fans, as they’ve been fighting in the States for many years.
With Saunders and Callum Smith, they’ve NEVER fought in the U.S, and aren’t big enough names to guarantee a lot of new subscribers coming to DAZN for a fight against Canelo.
Canelo has already fought 3 times in his 11-fight contract with DAZN. His other fights have been against Kovalev, Jacobs and Rocky Fielding. It’s important that Canelo’s next opponent for May 2 be someone that will bring in the subscribers to DAZN.
De La Hoya’s offer to Callum Smith likely reflected that he’s not someone well known enough to move the needle as far as bringing in new subscribers. Canelo needs someone that the American boxing fans have heard of, and Callum obviously isn’t the guy that they need.