By: Sean Crose
After months of fight fans wondering just who Canelo Alvarez would fight next, word has finally come out that the Mexican star will be facing the highly regarded WBA super middleweight belt holder Callum Smith on December 19th. Amid speculation, it was assumed Canelo would either face Smith or Caleb Plant next, the IBF champion. Now that it’s clear Canelo will be facing Smith, there is a bit of irony to the entire affair. For Canelo, he recently parted ways with Golden Boy Promotions and the DAZN streaming service. Now, less than a month after the break, it’s clear he’ll be back before DAZN cameras again when he faces Smith.
One of the biggest, if not the single biggest, attractions in the sport, Canelo has been a prominent player in the fight game since he faced Floyd Mayweather back in 2013. The red haired fighter lost that super fight, but went on to win and get better year after year. Now, with numerous championships and major bouts on his resume, Canelo can essentially pick and choose who his opponents will be. Smith, essentially, has won the Canelo sweepstakes. Not that he hasn’t earned it.
Boasting a perfect record of 27-0, Smith has worked his way to the top of the super middleweight division without an inordinate amount of fanfare. His last fight, which went down in November of last year, saw the Englishman best John Ryder. Smith, like so many fighters, has been waiting for a major fight. Now that the opportunity is here, Smith will unquestionably be at his best when he slips in between the ropes to face Canelo. Not that he won’t have some advantages walking in.
Smith, after all, will be boasting a close to six inch height advantage. That’s tough for any fighter to overcome, even one of Canelo’s pedigree. The man also has a championship pedigree and absolutely oozes confidence. Canelo, on the other hand, has engaged with one big name after another. Miguel Cotto, Gennady Golovkin, and Amir Khan have all been bested by Canelo. He even won a light heavyweight title in his last fight, which saw him best Sergey Kovalev in November of 2019. As of now, the man’s record stands at 53-1-2 with 36 of those wins coming via stoppage.
No location has been presented for Canelo-Smith as of yet.
