By: Hans Themistode
From the moment Callum Smith stood wearily on the scales before his latest trip to the ring, the British native knew it would be the final time he competed at 168 pounds.
The 31-year-old will now officially move up in weight and is set to take on Lenin Castillo on September 25th in London. Their contest will play one of the supporting roles to the mega showdown between unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua and former undisputed cruiserweight champion, Oleksandr Usyk.
With the help of new trainer Buddy McGirt, Smith is hoping that he’ll enjoy as much, if not more success, in his new home.
After dominating the World Boxing Super Series and picking up wins against the likes of George Groves and Rocky Fielding, stopping them both, Smith captured the WBA super-middleweight title. His reign proved to be transient, however, as he took on pound for pound star, Canelo Alvarez.
In front of a jam-packed crowd at the Alamodome, in San Antonio, Texas, Alvarez pummeled his man. A clearly overmatched Smith was reserved offensively and lost widely on all three judges’ scorecards.
Since then, Smith has worked diligently with McGirt and now appears ready to make the trek seven pounds north. In Castillo, Smith will be afforded a measuring stick of sorts. In October of 2019, the career journeymen took on current WBA belt holder, Dmitry Bivol. On the night, Castillo was thoroughly outboxed.
To Castillo’s credit, he’s bounced back nicely. Just a few short weeks ago, he brazenly stopped the previously undefeated Ronald Gonzalez.
