Smith faces Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez next weekend in the biggest fight of his career to date
Unbeaten Callum Smith, the No 1 super middleweight in the world, has never looked happier or more vibrant as he contemplates a week and a fight that could define his career.
Next Saturday the Liverpudlian will be in Texas, putting his WBA and Ring Magazine 12st belts – as well as the vacant WBC belt – on the line against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, the No 1 boxer, pound for pound, on the planet.
This is the fight Smith, 30, with an unblemished 27-fight record, has always craved. “I’m in a fight I’ve wanted, even before I was world champion. I wanted to fight the best and I finally got my world title,” Smith told The Telegraph in an exclusive interview before flying across The Pond with trainer Joe Gallagher.
“No disrespect to the two defences I’ve had but they weren’t fights I wanted to stay in boxing for. I wanted to stay in boxing for the biggest fights possible and there is no bigger fight than this. To finally get this after being a world champion for two years is amazing, if feels like all the hard work has paid off. I felt like I’d worked hard to be in a position and nothing was really coming of it.
“You’d dream of being a world champion and the big fights would come and that didn’t really happen for me. To finally get it, I’m going to the gym training for a fight I wanted and I know I have to be at my best to win. That makes training easier. It’s tough, but you’re doing it knowing why you’re doing it. That makes it a little easier.”
Boxers say the deep fear of opponents, or not performing to their best, will get the most out of them. Smith concurs that he has had exactly that kind of camp – training in isolation in Amir Khan’s gym in Bolton – for the last five weeks since the contest was announced.
It will even have a crowd of 15,000 fans, heavily favouring Alvarez, whose fights regularly draw an audience of more than 30 million in his native Mexico.
“The fear of losing has always been a massive motivation for me,” says Smith, who is the youngest of four boxing brothers after Paul, Stephen and Liam. “Obviously I enjoy winning, but the fear of losing has always been what’s made me dig a little bit deeper.
“When it gets hard you need a reason not to stop. I can’t lose. The chances of me losing this fight are greater than previous. So yeah, the fear of me losing puts me through camp, and more so for this fight. I’ve walked in the ring believing I’d beat any super middleweight in the world and that includes Canelo Alvarez.
“By December 19th, I’ll have finished camp, be in the best shape possible and will walk in the ring fully believing I will be the winner. I understand who I’m in against, he’s a very good fighter. That fear of losing has brought the best out of me in the past and I believe it will do this time as well.”
But more than the belts and the titles, a victory over Canelo would set up a great legacy for the quiet man from Merseyside. His brother, Liam, was stopped by Alvarez four years ago in the ninth round, caught by a brutal body shot.
The ‘Canelo vs The Smiths’ story is an intriguing one. Moreover, oldest brother Paul fought Andre Ward, the undefeated two weight world champion in 2015, when the Californian considered the pound for pound No 1 himself. One-upmanship is hard fought amongst these siblings.
“We are proud of it as a family. We’re still hoping to achieve more. We never really sit back and look at what we have done. It’s only when people say it out loud, well, yeah, three out of four have boxed the No 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world at that time.
“It’s some achievement but me and Liam are still going. We are still trying to achieve more and hopefully we can have a win over one of the best pound-for-pound boxers in the world. I do believe there’s more world titles in us as a family, more big nights.”
Smith, though, might not have been fighting Canelo had it not been for the coronavirus pandemic. Canelo was in the frame to fight British rival Billy Joe Saunders in May, but that fight was called off. The winner would most likely have fought Smith anyway, but the lockdown and protocols changed the course of history. It has made it a strange year for Smith.
“I think the year has gone quick but it’s been a frustrating one. We started talks about fighting Canelo in May. That was exciting and we were really close to getting it before Billy Joe got it. Then we had to reassess and look for other options.
“Then the pandemic was happening and we didn’t know when we were going to fight. I was looking at options because I wanted to fight this year. I didn’t want to write the whole year off as a loss. And then the Canelo fight pops up again.
“When I saw the reaction on social media that got me excited. I went to the gym again and the excitement was booming. So I’ve got to be thankful the fight’s on and it did get over the line. I am fighting this year and I am fighting the fight I wanted.”
Smith, the underdog against the Mexican, who has lost just once in a 56 fight career – on points to Floyd Mayweather Jr – believes his style matches well with the four-weight world champion.
“I believe so. He’s a good technical orthodox fighter. He throws nice combinations and picks his shots very well but he’s not elusive or awkward,” Smith said.
“There’s a lot of fighters who are spoilers and hard to look good against, I don’t believe he’s one of them. He’s technically pretty sound to fight against. Listen, he’s a very, very good fighter. I might find him awkward or hard to hit but from the outside looking in he’s not… you see some fighters who are crude and hard to fight against and Canelo certainly isn’t in that category. And I don’t believe I am myself.
“So I think the styles should gel pretty well and make for a good fight and an exciting fight. A fight I do believe I can win and if I’m at my best I will beat him and I believe I can beat him well.”
Smith also has faith in his heavy hands stopping Canelo. “I’ve always said I believe I can hurt anyone at 168lbs. Any man in the ring with me I believe I’ve got the power to hurt. I don’t go in looking for it, I believe the only time I did was my debut and I won on points. I’ve always thought to stick to what I do best and my power will show.
“I’ve got to go in and take it round by round, and if it comes, it comes. If it doesn’t I’ve got to make sure that if the bell goes at the end of the fight I believe I’ve won it. That’s the plan, to be the better fighter over 12 rounds. If I can hurt him I’ll hurt him, but if I can’t I’ve still got a job to do to win on points.”
Callum Smith vs Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez is live on DAZN in the UK on December 19.