Tag: Canelo Alvarez vs Callum Smith

Editor’s note: This article was originally published on DAZN.com.

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Callum Smith believes that Canelo Alvarez is currently unbeatable.

Alvarez defeated Smith by a unanimous decision in December, giving the Mexican two super middleweight titles. The loss brought Smith’s unbeaten record to an end in a convincing win for his rival.

Smith told Sky Sports that while he had been in the gym for most of the year during the coronavirus pandemic, there are things he would have changed if he had the chance.

“Ideally I would have wanted full notice but I was in the gym most of the year. If I wasn’t doing anything I would have turned the fight down. I was in decent enough shape, I did the twelve rounds OK,” he said.

“Tactically I would have liked longer to adjust to Canelo but I could have had twelve rounds and there’s no certainty that the result would have been different.

“He is very clever in terms of the jab. He walks you down. With anybody else, you would jab. But he wants you to jab because he’s a counter-puncher.

“So you don’t throw as many jabs and while you are waiting, he closes the space down without throwing anything. Then he jabs and hits you. You think: ‘How did that land?’ He keeps you guessing all the time. You are hesitant.”

Smith went on: “His best asset was his presence and his defense. He was so hard to hit clean. When I was throwing he was riding them, making me miss. You aren’t landing so you stop fully committing to shots. He takes away what you are good at.

“I don’t think anyone beats him. He may only lose if he keeps going up in weight but he’s put a stop to that. His defense is just too good. He can obviously punch but his power wasn’t ridiculous.

“I remember Groves hit me and I thought: ‘I don’t want to take one of those on the chin.'”

Alvarez is scheduled to defend his titles against Avni Yildirim on Feb. 27.

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Callum Smith can tell his grandchildren that he went 12 rounds with the great Canelo Alvarez. But he paid a price for the privilege.

Alvarez didn’t just beat Smith to take his super middleweight title Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio, he beat him up in a fight that was about as one-sided as it gets at the elite level of sport.

Smith’s ability to hear the final bell is a testament to his durability but that was his only accomplishment. He simply had neither the ability nor the power to make the fight competitive, meaning only fans of Alvarez were happy afterward.

The Englishman, unbeaten going into Saturday, seemed to have some hope on paper and in body structure going into the fight.

He has proved over and over again in his career that he’s a capable boxer and his physical advantages over Alvarez were obvious: He was seven inches taller than the challenger, depending on who was doing the measuring.

However, once the fight started, it was clear that height doesn’t win fights.

Alvarez (54-1-2, 36 KOs) used the first half of the first round to size up his much taller opponent and then began to walk him down, never stopping until the final bell sounded.

And why would he have stopped? Smith, the more natural 168-pounder, had nothing to throw at Alvarez that dissuaded him from coming forward. Most of the champion’s punches missed the mark – he landed only 18% of his shots, according to CompuBox – and Alvarez walked threw the ones that landed.

Meanwhile, Alvarez landed more and more bruising power shots to both the head – his uppercuts were his best punch — and body as the fight went on. In the end, he landed an absurd 57% of his power shots.

The fight was essentially over two thirds into the fight, when the same scenario played out round after round and it was clear that Smith (27-1, 19 KOs) couldn’t hurt Alvarez if he dropped his hands and stood still.

The only thing left Alvarez was to score a knockout. And he tried for one in the 12^th round, when he unloaded one power punch after the other. However, Smith, who has never been down in his career, went into full survival mode and simply wouldn’t allow the fight to end inside the distance.

The final scores were 119-109, 119-109 and 117-111 in favor of Alvarez, who took Smith’s WBA title and also won the vacant WBC belt. Boxing Junkie had it 119-109, 11 rounds to one.

Alvarez has now won major titles in in four divisions – 154 pounds, 160, 175 against Sergey Kovalev in his last fight and 168 on Saturday – to bolster his credentials as one of the best fighters pound for pound.

What’s next for him?

He said after the fight that he wants to further unify the super middleweight titles, which means either Caleb Plant (IBF) or Billy Joe Saunders (WBO) could be his next opponent.

Alvarez also was asked about bitter rival Gennadiy Golovkin, with whom he has a draw and a close victory. He rolled his eyes when Triple-G’s name was mentioned but then said he was open to any challenge.

No one doubts that.

[lawrence-related id=16584]

Callum Smith can tell his grandchildren that he went 12 rounds with the great Canelo Alvarez. But he paid a price for the privilege.

Alvarez didn’t just beat Smith to take his super middleweight title Saturday at the Alamodome in San Antonio, he beat him up in a fight that was about as one-sided as it gets at the elite level of sport.

Smith’s ability to hear the final bell is a testament to his durability but that was his only accomplishment. He simply had neither the ability nor the power to make the fight competitive, meaning only fans of Alvarez were happy afterward.

The Englishman, unbeaten going into Saturday, seemed to have some hope on paper and in body structure going into the fight.

He has proved over and over again in his career that he’s a capable boxer and his physical advantages over Alvarez were obvious: He was seven inches taller than the challenger, depending on who was doing the measuring.

However, once the fight started, it was clear that height doesn’t win fights.

Alvarez (54-1-2, 36 KOs) used the first half of the first round to size up his much taller opponent and then began to walk him down, never stopping until the final bell sounded.

And why would he have stopped? Smith, the more natural 168-pounder, had nothing to throw at Alvarez that dissuaded him from coming forward. Most of the champion’s punches missed the mark – he landed only 18% of his shots, according to CompuBox – and Alvarez walked threw the ones that landed.

Meanwhile, Alvarez landed more and more bruising power shots to both the head – his uppercuts were his best punch — and body as the fight went on. In the end, he landed an absurd 57% of his power shots.

The fight was essentially over two thirds into the fight, when the same scenario played out round after round and it was clear that Smith (27-1, 19 KOs) couldn’t hurt Alvarez if he dropped his hands and stood still.

The only thing left Alvarez was to score a knockout. And he tried for one in the 12^th round, when he unloaded one power punch after the other. However, Smith, who has never been down in his career, went into full survival mode and simply wouldn’t allow the fight to end inside the distance.

The final scores were 119-109, 119-109 and 117-111 in favor of Alvarez, who took Smith’s WBA title and also won the vacant WBC belt. Boxing Junkie had it 119-109, 11 rounds to one.

Alvarez has now won major titles in in four divisions – 154 pounds, 160, 175 against Sergey Kovalev in his last fight and 168 on Saturday – to bolster his credentials as one of the best fighters pound for pound.

What’s next for him?

He said after the fight that he wants to further unify the super middleweight titles, which means either Caleb Plant (IBF) or Billy Joe Saunders (WBO) could be his next opponent.

Alvarez also was asked about bitter rival Gennadiy Golovkin, with whom he has a draw and a close victory. He rolled his eyes when Triple-G’s name was mentioned but then said he was open to any challenge.

No one doubts that.

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The main portion of the Canelo Alvarez-Callum Smith card on Saturday begins at 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT on DAZN or pay-per-view. The Smith-Alvarez fight could begin as early as 11 p.m. ET / 8 p.m. PT, depending on how the undercard fights go.

More likely, based on past cards, the main even fighters will make their ring walks around 11:30 p.m. ET / 8:30 p.m. PT or slightly later.

You can watch if you have a subscription to DAZN, which costs $19.99 per month or $99.99 annually.

Or you can watch the last five fights on the card on traditional pay-per-view for $69.99. That includes a four-month subscription to DAZN (January through April).

Smith will defend his WBA supper middleweight title against Alvarez at the Alamodome in San Antonio. The vacant WBC title will also be on the line.

• When: Saturday, Dec. 19
• Start time: 8 p.m. ET / 5 p.m. PT (main event three-plus hours into show)
• Where: Alamodome, San Antonio
• TV: DAZN (subscription) and PPV ($69.99)