By Daniel McGlinchey – 17/11/2024 – Commentary
Callum Smith will finally return to action in two weeks’ time against an opponent yet to be determined on November 30 at the Resorts World Arena in Birmingham.
The 34-year-old former WBA super middleweight champion Smith (29-2, 24 KOs) will fight Galal Yafai on the undercard of Sunny Edwards, which is not looking good for him.
Going from a main event fighter to fighting on the undercard of a flyweight scrap between Edwards and Yafai is a pretty drastic fall for Smith, but it reflects where his career is at.
Desperate measures needed for Callum
Smith has lost two of his last four fights since 2020, and two makeover fights that Matchroom gave him in between the first loss didn’t help. Promoter Eddie Hearn might as well have skipped the tuneups and thrown Smith into the Wolves right away.
The flaws in Smith’s game that John Ryder and Canelo Alvarez exposed were still present when he fought unified 175-lb champion Artur Beterbiev on January 13.
Fans are not eager to see the stork-like 6’3″ Smith return to the ring on November 30th, as many have given up on him 100% and view his career as a sinking ship that cannot be saved from sinking . . Promoter Eddie Hearn shouldn’t waste too many fights on a rebuild with Smith like he did with Anthony Joshua because it won’t help. This is as good as it gets for him, and he won’t improve.
The ideal thing would be for Hearn to beat Callum against a tomato can on November 30th and then set him up to fight the winner of the February 1st fight between David Benavidez and WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion David Morrell.
If Smith can fight the winner of that fight in a Riyadh season event, it will be a nice payday and give him a chance to get lucky and win. A win for Smith over the winner of that fight would set him up for a lucrative fight for the undisputed at 175 against Beterbiev or Bivol.
World is back 💥 @callumsmith23
Returning to the ring in Birmingham, ready to get back into the mix 👊 #EdwardsYafai live on @daznboxing30 November pic.twitter.com/Hx5AcVFmXc
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) November 17, 2024
Last updated on 17/11/2024
