Liverpool’s Callum Smith gave us a great performance this past Saturday, this on the stacked “Last Crescendo” card in Riyadh. And when the time comes to hand out the honours, it could be that Smith’s thrilling 12 round war with Joshua Buatsi will be in the running for the Fight of the Year trophy. It was a fantastic battle, and in beating Buatsi, Smith showed he has plenty left in the tank.
Now the WBO interim champ at 175 pounds, “Mundo” has set himself a lofty goal: that of becoming a two-weight world champion. Smith, 31-2(22) and the former WBA super middleweight champion, says he would love a shot at the main man at 175 pounds, Dmitry Bivol. Smith, now 2-0 since being stopped for the only time in his career, this by Artur Beterbiev in January of 2024, told The Ring that all he wants is to become a world champion again.
“Bivol’s got the belts, so ideally Bivol,” Smith said when asked who he’d like to fight next. “I don’t know what he’s gonna do. Maybe he’s gonna have a third match [with Beterbiev]. I just want to be world champion again.”
Can Smith do it? It’s a tall order, defeating the superb Bivol, a man who as we know had lost just once, this via razor-thin decision against Beterbiev, the two now 1-1, and if Smith did get a shot at Bivol, chances are the reigning four-belt king would be installed as a significant favourite. But the guts, power, drive, and toughness Smith showed against Buatsi let us all know that the 34 year old can never be written off. Some people made that mistake going into the Smith-Buatsi fight, and Smith made the critics eat their words.
It sure would be a massive achievement if Smith could win a full world title at light-heavyweight, against Bivol or anyone else (should the four belts become fragmented for any reason). But as good as he looked, and as exciting as he was against Buatsi, Smith has earned the right to try and do it.
As for Bivol, it is with great interest that we await his next fight, whoever it’s to be against.
