Smith: ‘I’m A Bad Fight’ For Canelo
The world is wondering who Canelo Alvarez’ next opponent will be. The 29-year-old middleweight king last fought Sergey Kovalev back in November, beating him via KO. With several more fights under his deal with DAZN, the next opponent for Canelo (53-1-2) has to be the right fit.
Could it be Callum Smith, The WBA and The Ring Super Middleweight Champion of the world? It appears as thought the Liverpool native is fine either way.
“If it is me, I would be happy,” Smith stated to Sky Sports’ Soccer AM, via Boxing Scene. “If not, I’m in a good division, there’s a lot of big fights out there for me, outside ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, so I’m in a good position. It’s just sitting and waiting and hopefully we can get one of the big names sorted.”
In regards to fights he would like to make for himself, Smith (27-0) named fighters like Billy Joe Saunders and Daniel Jacobs as challengers. He even mentioned a potential rematch with John Ryder, who he beat via unanimous decision back in November.
One of Smith’s main goes is to fight in Anfield Stadium. While Canelo fits as a guy who can fill up a stadium that can hold over 54,000 people, Smith doesn’t believe the difference between the normal middleweight Canelo would hold well at super middleweight.
“Styles make fights,” Smith continued. “I think I’m a bit of a bad fight for him. I’m 6 ft 3 in, I’m a lot bigger than him, I can punch. Style-wise, I’m not ideal to fight, but I’m not taking anything away from Alvarez, he’s a special fighter and he’s one of the best pound-for-pound fighter in the world for a reason.”
The comments regarding height is fascinating, especially because of the last time Canelo fought at super middleweight. Inside Madison Square Garden, Canelo took out all 6 ft 3 inches of Rocky Fielding in three rounds, winning the WBA super Middleweight Title in the process. While the training to get back up in weight may be difficult, the prospect of facing someone like Smith isn’t very foreign to Canelo.
Regardless of Smith’s comments, he does raise a great point: everyone is after Canelo. From Demetrius Andrade to a potential bout with Ryoto Murata, Canelo has options. While Canelo can go up in weight like he has before, Smith is all for standing in the background while everyone fights for his attention.
“I wouldn’t say he’s avoided me,” said Smith. “I just think there’s a big list of opponents who want to fight him, so he’s got the choice of many, and he picks who he wants to fight. Whoever gets the job, takes it.”