WBO interim light heavyweight champion Callum Smith says negotiations with WBC and WBA ‘regular’ 175-lb champion David Benavidez are “nowhere near done” for a summer fight. Smith (31-2, 22 KOs) sounded unsure whether the fight would get made.
He has a nonchalant view about it, and he feels he’s in “a good position regardless” to challenge for a world title soon. Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) and Smith hope to challenge the winner of the Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev trilogy match. It’s unclear when that’ll happen. Bivol gave up his WBC belt to avoid Benavidez and take the trilogy match against Beterbiev.
Benavidez Fight Not Done
“That fight is nowhere near done,” said Callum Smith to Secondsout about a fight against David Benavidez. “I’m in a good position regardless of who I fight next. I want to be a two-belt world champion, and I’ll beat whoever I have to for me to get there.”
It’s surprising that Smith is willing to take the fight with Benavidez because it’s risky. He could lose his WBO interim 175-lb title, which is a valuable belt that puts Smith, 34, in a position to challenge champion Dmitry Bivol or Artur Beterbiev for the belt. Callum would be better off just sitting on his interim belt and just waiting to see if he can get a shot against the Bivol-Beterbiev 3 winner.
“He’s a very good fighter. I knew him for a long time. We were world champions at the same time down at 168,” said Callum about Benavidez. “I’ve always rated him as a fighter. I like his personality, and I think he’s good for boxing.”
Smith says they should have fought when they were both at 168. Smith’s loss to Canelo Alvarez may have gotten in the way of that. That spoiled things for him. Benavidez stayed at 168, wasting his time, trying to get a fight against Canelo rather than following Callum up to 175 right away.
“I think stylistically, we make a pretty good fight together,” said Smith about Benavidez. “If I were to retire tomorrow, I would feel that this was the one fight that should have happened against Benavidez one. We were both at 168 together. We were both massive 168. So, we both had the potential to move to 175. We both have now.”
Benavidez: Smith’s Next Move?
With Bivol and Beterbiev tied up with their trilogy, Smith might as well fight Benavidez next if he’s confident he can win. Callum’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, hasn’t seemed as animated talking about the Benavidez fight. There’s no enthusiasm in Hearn’s voice when he speaks about the Smith-Benavidez clash. He knows what his fighter, Callum, would be against fighting the ‘Mexican Monster.’
“So, I think it’s a fight that will happen. He’s the WBC champion. I’d like to fight in Vegas. So, if we can box in Vegas, that’s another box ticked for me. I just want the best fights possible and whatever makes sense for me, whether that be in Vegas or Liverpool,” said Smith.
That would be impressive if Callum can defeat Benavidez, as it would be a major upset and his second big win in a row. In Smith’s previous fight, he defeated Joshua Buatsi on February 22nd in Riyadh in a 12-round war.
