By Dan Ambrose: Eddie Hearn has ruled out Ryan Garcia vs. Luke Campbell taking place on the same card as Canelo Alvarez vs. Callum Smith in December.
That’s disappointing news, as a lot of boxing fans on social media were hoping that Ryan and Campbell would team up with Canelo vs. Callum for a mega-card in December at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. You knew it was too good to be true, though.
Hearn says that there’s no way that Garcia-Campbell can take place on the same card as Canelo-Smith because Ryan Garcia is with Golden Boy Promotions.
Canelo (53-1-2, 36 KOs) recently split with Golden Boy as part of a lawsuit that he had initiated, and he’s not going to choose to fight on one of their cards. Hearn says it’s possible that Garcia vs. Campbell could take place the same weekend as the Canelo vs. Smith fight.
Matchroom Boxing boss Hearn is still negotiating the Canelo vs. Smith fight, and he’s excited about it. He views it as a great opportunity for the unbeaten Smith (27-0, 19 KOs) to create a big upset.
Hearn is looking to stage the lightweight match between Ryan Garcia (20-0, 17 KOs) and Luke Campbell (20-3, 17 KOs) on December 18th or 19th on DAZN.
Canelo vs. Callum Smith isn’t done yet
“Luke Campbell felt unwell. He didn’t want to tell anyone because he thought he’d be fine. He’d have a few days off, and he’d go back to training, and December 5th wouldn’t be a problem,” said Hearn to IFL TV. “But it went on a week longer than it should have been.
“Now he’s able to return to training, but he’s missed two weeks of training and sparring. This is such a big fight for him,” said Hearn of Campbell about his match against Ryan Garcia.
“I said you couldn’t go into this fight unless you’re 100%, and they acknowledged that. Two weeks on the 18th or 19th, no problems. He will be 100% ready for that date.
“I heard reports about Canelo-Smith, which, by the way, is not done. I’m negotiating that fight with Callum Smith and his lawyer.
“Callum Smith is self-managed, and I’m negotiating that fight with Canelo Alvarez and Eddy Reynoso, that’s it, and we haven’t got a deal yet with that situation, but we have a great chance to make that fight,” said Hearn.
WBA super-middleweight champion Callum Smith isn’t the opponent that American boxing fans wanted to see Canelo fight next in December. They were hoping Canelo would fight IBF 168-lb champion, Caleb Plant.
There wouldn’t be enough time for Canelo to fight Plant (20-0, 12 KOs) because they would have needed to sell the match on Showtime pay-per-view, and it would require many weeks to ramp it up for the fans.
Canelo-Smith won’t be on Ryan Garcia card
“You won’t see that fight [Canelo vs. Callum Smith] on the same card because Ryan Garcia is with Golden Boy,” said Hearn. “So after everything that happened, they’re not going to all of a sudden pop-up in the changing room and see Canelo.
“You might see that fight in the same weekend; I don’t know. If we could deliver that fight for Callum Smith, it would be a dream come true. Canelo wants to fight in December.
“So if you want to fight Canelo, you’ve got to take the opportunity now because whatever he does, he’s made it very clear. He wants to do it fight by fight and see how it goes.
“Of course, on DAZN, we have Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders, we have Gennadiy Golovkin on DAZN USA, and there are his opponents.
“If you ask Canelo and Eddy Reynoso, ‘Give me the top three guys that you want to fight.’ I think he’d say, ‘Callum Smith, Billy Joe Saunders, and Gennadiy Golovkin.’
“It makes sense for us to do business, but my focus is not the future business for Canelo. It’s to deliver Callum Smith his dream opportunity to go and fight one of the pound-for-pound greats. That’s what we’re trying to do,” Hearn said.
It was never realistic for Canelo to fight on a Golden Boy card after the recent litigation. The money wouldn’t have worked out either.
Ryan Garcia vs. Luke Campbell is a big enough fight to headline its own shot, and the money wouldn’t have been there to squeeze them onto the Canelo-Smith card. If the fight could take place in front of a full stadium full of people, it might work, but that’s not going to happen.
Canelo could face three of Hearn’s fighters
“You can’t underestimate the amount of subscribers that Canelo drives.,” Hearn continued. “He’s one of the biggest stars in the sport. There are many people who were surprised to hear that Canelo vs. Callum Smith is being negotiated for a fight on DAZN, and it is.
“That’s where it’ll be if it happens. I don’t think Canelo has an ego. He’s a very smart individual. He just wants to ensure that he fights this year. The one thing I can say about Canelo Alvarez is, he continuously wants to fight the champions.
“I could give him an offer for the same date in a fight that’s twice as easy for more money, but he wants to fight the champions. He wants to fight people with belts, he wants to fight the Ring Magazine champions, and I have massive respect for him for that.
“The truth is, how many fights have I been involved in with Canelo Alvarez? Rocky Fielding, Daniel Jacobs, and I’m saying that we’re going to get you one day. The last time after the Daniel Jacobs fight, he said to me, ‘Eddie, anymore?’ ‘Yeah, I’ve got loads more. I’ve got Callum, Billy and I’ve got Golovkin. One day, we’re going to get you.’
“He’s a great fighter, and he’ll fight anyone,” Hearn said of Canelo. “As I said, it would be an honor to be involved with him, but my focus is getting Callum Smith this life-changing opportunity to go achieve something in the sport that would blow boxing up if you go over there and beat Canelo Alvarez,” said Hearn.
Hearn seemed almost gleeful in talking about Canelo potentially fighting three of his Matchroom fighters in a row. Hearn’s fighters – Saunders, Callum, and Golovkin – have an excellent chance of facing Canelo.
Hearn forgot to mention John Ryder’s name as one of Canelo’s guys for a future fight. Ryder is likely to get a shot against Canelo as well in what would be a bad mismatch. Ryder can’t punch, and he’s slow.