Canelo Alvarez has announced that he’ll be facing Callum Smith on December 19th in the U.S on DAZN. The fight is expected to take place in Texas, but it still hasn’t been revealed as of yet. The Canelo-Smith fight will be shown on DAZN UK as well.
There’s no word whether there will be a rehydration clause, but there’s likely one included in the contract. The 6’3″ Smith (27-0, 19 KOs) is a lot bigger than the 5’8″ Canelo, and if there’s a rehydration clause, it’ll make things fairer.
If Canelo (53-1-2, 36 KOs) wins, he’ll likely face WBO super middleweight champion, Billy Joe Saunders, next.
That’s if Saunders is still the WBO champion, as he has a title defense coming up against 38-year-old Martin Murray on December 4th at the Wembley Arena in London.
Canelo fighting Saunders makes sense, as he’s promoted by Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing stable, and it would be an easy and safe fight to be made. The guy that Canelo will have problems attempting to beat is IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant, who is arguably the #1 fighter in the 168-lb division.
“We’re more ready than ever. I’ll be returning to the ring this upcoming December 19th to face Callum Smith. The wait has been long but I promise it will be worth it.#TheP4PKingIsBack #CaneloSmith,” said Canelo on his Instagram.
The battle for 168lb supremacy!!! @Canelo v @CallumSmith23 Dec 19 in USA live on @DAZNBoxing 🔥 @CANELOTEAM 🇲🇽 🇬🇧 pic.twitter.com/RCLO2CVU9t
— Eddie Hearn (@EddieHearn) November 17, 2020
Callum Smith is a big, big puncher, but he doesn’t have an inside game that will match Canelo. In Smith’s last fight, he was worked over by John Ryder on the inside last November Ryder was able to stay in close and work Callum over for 12 rounds.
With Callum being the A-side and fighting in his backyard in Liverpool, England, he was given a wide 12 round decision. But in reality, he clearly lost the fight.
Canelo won’t have to worry about controversial scoring because the fight is taking place in Texas, so we likely won’t see any odd results.
If Smith isn’t able to keep Canelo on the outside, he’ll likely get knocked out within six rounds.
Smith’s best career wins have come against these fighters:
- John Ryder
- George Groves
- Hassan Ndam
- Erik Skoglund
- Nieky Holzken
- Christopher Rebrasse
- Rocky Fielding
Smith won the World Boxing Super Series 168-lb tournament in 2018 in defeating George Groves in the final to win the Ali Trophy. However, since then, Smith hasn’t beaten anyone of note. Smith’s last two wins have come against Ndam and Ryder.