There are heightened stakes and perhaps some additional pressure on Callum Smith on Saturday in a super middleweight bout as critical as any in his unbeaten career. He faces John Ryder. But it is more than just another fight.
It’s a projected springboard for Smith (26-0, 19 knockouts), who has hopes for bigger names, bigger crowds and bigger money in 2020.
You’ll find Smith’s name on a list of possible opponents for Canelo Alvarez, who figures to fight again in May. A fight at light heavyweight against Sergey Kovalev has also has been mentioned.
Mostly, there’s been talk about a 168-pound showdown with U.K. rival Billy Joe Saunders in March or April at Anfield, a Liverpool soccer stadium with a seating capacity of about 54,000. Promoter Eddie Hearn foresees a huge crowd for that one. But there’s already talk that Saunders, who failed to impress in a stoppage of Marcelo Coceres on Nov. 9, isn’t a big enough name.
“It’s an opportunity, and we will see what happens,” Smith trainer Joe Gallagher told The Mirror, a U.K. newspaper “But we don’t want Anfield with just 10,000 there. We want Anfield with a proper dance partner.
“From what I hear about Billy Joe Saunders, he either wants to move back down to middleweight or get the Canelo fight. But I don’t think Billy Joe Saunders would bring 30-40,000 in.
“Just look at his last fights. We will just have to wait and see. But, first and foremost, we have to take care of John Ryder, and he’s in the form of his life.”
Gallagher knows about the perils of looking ahead instead of focusing on the immediate. Ryder (28-4, 16 KOs), a mandatory challenger for Smith’s belt, has some momentum. He’s won four straight since dropping a split decision to Rocky Fielding on April 22 ,2017.
Smith fights Ryder at the 11,000-seat Echo Arena, also in Liverpool, Smith’s hometown, on DAZN in the U.S. and Sky Sports in the U.K.
“We haven’t see the best of Callum Smith yet,” Gallagher said. “That’s the frightening thing. Against George Groves (on Sept. 28, 2018), I was really annoyed that he stopped (Groves) in the seventh round because he had so much more to show in terms of shot selection.
“Listen, he’s still got huge potential and hopefully John Ryder will be able to bring another skill set out of Callum for everyone to sit back and say he is the real deal. We did testing last week and everything is the best it’s been. His weight is down. That tells you everything that he won’t take any challenge lightly. He’s absolutely on it.’’