Callum Smith is the titleholder. He has a perfect record. He has never been down in his career, not once. He towers over Canelo Alvarez, his opponent on Saturday night at the Alamodome in San Antonio. And almost no one believes Smith can win the fight.
He gets it. He also suggests that fans who are writing him off should brace themselves for a surprise.
“Canelo is such a big star,” Smith told Boxing Junkie. “People believe he’s invincible. I think people in boxing respect me, they know how good I am. They know I have a good chance to win.
“Stylistically, I like my chances.”
Smith (27-0, 19 KOs) is the youngest and best of four boxing brothers from Liverpool, England, one of whom, Liam Smith, was knocked out by Alvarez in 2016. Liam isn’t Callum.
Callum Smith has overcome every challenge thrown his way, including a spectacular seventh-round knockout of George Groves to give him his world 168-pound title in September 2018 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
Now it’s important to note that he was fortunate to win one of his 27 fights, the most-recent one. He defeated fringe contender John Ryder by a unanimous decision in November of last year, the second defense of his belt.
However, some believe that the scoring – 117-111, 116-112 and 116-112 – was an early Christmas gift for Smith. Ryder, still bitter, said as recently as Wednesday that “the world knows who won that fight.”
Smith won’t go that far but he acknowledges that he was flat in the fight. Did Ryder expose Smith’s limitations in the fight? If so, that might not be good news for Smith come Saturday. Or did he simply fight down to his competition, which is common in boxing.
“Possibly, yeah,” Smith said, referring to that last notion. “… It happens in boxing. You want to be at your best at all times but sometimes that’s not the case. In that fight (Ryder), I could afford to underperform. I can’t do that in this fight.
“You’ll see a better, more motivated version on Saturday.”
Of course, he had better be at his best if he hopes surprise anyone.
Alvarez is No. 2 on the Boxing Junkie pound-for-pound list for a reason. He has faced some of the best fighters in the world over the past decade-plus and has failed to have his hand raised only three times, draws against Jorge Juarez (in his fifth fight) and Gennadiy Golovkin, and a loss to Floyd Mayweather.
Smith is well aware of Alvarez’s ability. However, he points out that he’s a pretty good boxer himself. He had a strong amateur career, he learned a lot from his older brothers and continues to hone his craft under Joe Gallagher, the 2019 Ring Magazine Trainer of the Year.
Smith also has a not-so-secret weapon going into the Alvarez: A significant size advantage. The most-obvious edge is in height; the 6-foot-3 Smith is seven inches taller than his opponent. Did you see the face-to-face photos from Tuesday? Smith is a full head taller than Alvarez.
It doesn’t end there. Smith’s reach is 7½ inches longer than Alvarez’s. And Smith is simply the naturally bigger man. He is a career-long 168-pounder. Alvarez has fought above 160 only three times, including his last fight: An 11th-round knockout of Sergey Kovalev at light heavyweight.
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“Obviously we knew about the size difference,” Smith said. “It was nice to see him up close. I don’t think fans realized how big the size difference was. I’m not just big, though. I’m big with ability. And I’m not big with limited ability. I’m a world class fighter.
“I believe tactically I’ll have an edge, too. I’ll do enough to win the fight. That’s what I’m here for.”
Another thing seems obvious: Smith is motivated like never before. He understands the opportunity before him. If he wins on Saturday, nothing will remain the same.
And the fact that he’s the underdog in spite of his credentials – Alvarez is favored 4¼-1 by BetMGM – stokes the fire that burns beneath him as he prepares for the biggest fight of his life.
“It does feel different,” he said. “I feel like the challenger again. I’m here to prove a point, to prove to people how good I am. I like a challenge. And, yes, this is a challenge.”
