By: Hans Themistode
When Callum Smith is juxtaposed to Canelo Alvarez, everything is tilted in his favor.
Height? Check. Reach? Check. Even in terms of knockout percentage, Smith edges ahead. Despite all of the numbers being in his benefit, former trainer of Gennadiy Golovkin in Abel Sanchez, doesn’t believe any of that will matter once the two face off later on tonight at the Alamodome in San Antonio, Texas.
“I think it’ll be an easy fight for him,” said Sanchez during a recent interview with Fight Hub TV. “Canelo is the number one fighter in the world right now. You can’t look at Canelo’s record and who’s he fought and say he’s not number one. He’s got the best record of anyone in boxing right now.”
Having faced Alvarez in back to back contests when he cornered Gennadiy Golovkin, Sanchez knows first hand just how good he is. Since those showdowns, Alvarez has gone on to win world titles at both light heavyweight and super middleweight. In his most recent ring appearance, the Mexican product scored an 11th round stoppage win over former WBO 175 pound titlist Sergey Kovalev.
While most have given Alvarez credit for the win, others have disparaged it by pointing to Kovalev’s age and the wear and tear on his body. That however, is bullshit to Sanchez.
“Look at what did to Kovalev who’s a much better fighter than Callum Smith is. What? All of a sudden Kovalev grew old in one fight? No, he just got his ass whopped by Canelo.”
For Alvarez, his showdown with Smith will be the second in the super middleweight division. His first contest came roughly two years ago against Rocky Fielding. In what was predicted to be a mismatch, Alvarez stomped on his man, dropping him four times before finishing him off in the third round.
Smith, to his credit, laid a demolition job of his on Fielding three years prior, stopping him before the end of the first round.
By all accounts, Smith is viewed as a much better fighter. With that being said, Sanchez is under the belief that the beating that Alvarez handed to Fielding will look similar to the one he hands out to Smith later on tonight.
“I think that Callum gives him a little tougher fight than Rocky Fielding. I think he’s a better fighter but still, Canelo is at the top of his game right now. I think it’ll be an easy fight for him.”