By Sean Jones: Eddie Hearn says he’s still working on finalizing a fight between super middleweight champions Canelo Alvarez and Callum Smith for December. Hearn admits that if the Alvarez vs. Smith fight happens, the negotiations have to be completed this week.
Canelo (53-1-2, 36 KOs) wants to get a fight in before the end of the year, and he’s not going to let the negotiations with Smith (27-0, 19 KOs) eat up the remainder of 2020 without him seeing action.
Matchroom Boxing promoter Hearn doesn’t say what the hold up is over the Alvarez-Smith fight, but Callum is likely trying to get a better deal. The pandemic makes it impossible to stage a fight of that nature in front of a live crowd.
Canelo vs. Smith negotiations dragging on
“We’re in negotiations for Canelo against Callum Smith. We hope to get it over the line, but there’s still a long way to go,” said Eddie Hearn. “I guess we have to get it done this week if it’s going to happen.”
From what Hearn says, it doesn’t sound like the negotiations are running smoothly between Canelo and Smith. It’s unclear who Canelo’s main negotiator is. If it’s his manager Eddy Reynoso, he may be playing it tough in laying it on the line for what they’re willing to give Smith.
If the Canelo-Smith fight were one that the U.S boxing fans were eager to see on DAZN, Callum, 30, would be in a better position to get what he’s asking for. But the reality is, there’s no demand from American fans in seeing Canelo fight, Callum Smith or Billy Joe Saunders. Those are fights that only Canelo’s most devoted ultra-hardcore boxing fans would love.
Those are fights that UK fans would want to see, but NOT Americans. That’s why the stork-like Smith isn’t in a good position to be asking for a King’s ransom in the negotiations with Canelo.
You hate to say it, but this is a take it or leave it type of negotiation. If Smith doesn’t want to accept the terms, Canelo can move on and fight IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant in a fight that the American boxing fans would be over the moon at seeing.
U.S fans not demanding Canelo to fight Smith
Yeah, you can take the Canelo vs. Callum fight to Texas, but fans aren’t going to want to see that type of fight.
Casual boxing fans in Texas and the rest of the U.S have never heard of the 6’3″ Smith, and they’re not going to show interest in going out in large numbers during the height of the pandemic to see a glorified mismatch.
Also, if Smith hadn’t looked so horrible in winning a highly questionable 12 round decision against John Ryder, he would be in a better position to negotiate. Really, Smith should be fighting Ryder again rather than looking to expand his horizons against Canelo.