Callum Smith Motivated For Potential Fight Against Canelo Alvarez
WBA super middleweight champion Callum Smith’s present task is taking care of Hassan N’Dam this weekend, but that doesn’t mean that he’s not thinking about bigger fights down the road.
During the open workouts for the June 1 Matchroom Boxing on DAZN card in New York, Smith spoke about the possibility of having a potential showdown with Canelo Alvarez, who also fights on DAZN. The interest and possibility of a Canelo vs. Smith showdown stems from the fact that Alvarez currently holds the WBA “Regular” super middleweight title, a belt he collected last December with a win over Rocky Fielding.
Smith, on the other hand, holds the WBA’s “Super” title which is considered the primary WBA world title at 168 pounds. A fight against Alvarez is possible as Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya did mention Smith as a future opponent for Alvarez, despite the Mexican star sitting as the unified WBA, WBC and IBF middleweight champion.
Although Smith is excited of the prospects of facing arguably the sport’s biggest star, he understands those dreams end with a loss to N’Dam, a former WBA “Regular” middleweight titlist. Instead, Smith said he uses the fight against N’Dam as motivation to keep a fight against Alvarez alive.
“The fact is, with Canelo, is that if I slip up on Saturday night, that fight doesn’t happen. That’s gone. So that’s what keeps me motivated – that I have to come here this Saturday and win to keep those massive fights alive. I’m fully focused on June 1st. I’m in a very good place and I had a great training camp,” Smith said.
Fightful will have live coverage of Smith vs. N’Dam on June 1 from Madison Square Garden. Also on the card is Katie Taylor vs. Delfine Persoon for the undisputed women’s lightweight title as well as Anthony Joshua vs. Andy Ruiz Jr. for the unified WBA, WBO and IBF heavyweight titles serving as the main event.
