Callum Smith On Canelo Alvarez: “I Believe I Can Knock Him Out”

Callum Smith is confident going into his fight with Canelo

Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (left) stands across from Callum Smith
Saul "Canelo" Alvarez (left) stands across from Callum Smith

Callum Smith is confident going into his fight with Canelo


For his next fight, WBA super world super middleweight Callum “Mundo” Smith (27-0, 19 KO’s) will travel deep into enemy territory. On December 19, he will take on WBA super world middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KO’s) in San Antonio, Texas. Under the roof of the Alamodome, Smith will seek to dethrone the Mexican superstar in front of a very pro-Mexican crowd.

It is tough enough to fight in your opponent’s backyard as is. However, it is a whole other monster to tackle when that opponent is Canelo. Thus far in his career, the middleweight champion has been invincible on the scorecards. Even in his only losing effort, years ago against Floyd “Money” Mayweather (50-0, 27 KO’s), Alvarez got one dubious reading on the cards. Despite being hopelessly out-boxed, CJ Ross somehow managed to score the fight a draw. Along with Canelo’s near immunity with decisions, there is a notorious past of the Alamodome itself to contend with.

I GOT THE FORMULA

Even though Callum Smith can understand why some think the deck is stacked, he is not sweating it. The super middleweight champion is confident in his abilities and believes he can derail the Alvarez gravy train. Even getting the fight on short notice is not enough to shake his optimism. Being a proud gym rat, Mundo has no doubt in his conditioning or chances of victory.

“Of course, ideally I would prefer longer just so I could train specifically towards Canelo Alvarez. I have been training though, I haven’t just sat on the couch and done nothing. I was in the gym training with Joe [Gallagher], I’m always in and out of the gym anyway. We got the call on four weeks’ notice and I was in a good enough position to take it and I’ll be 100% come the night.”

Beyond his training camp, Smith also puts great stock in his ability to outperform Alvarez on December 19.

“I’d like to think that if the bell goes at the end of the fight, and if I’ve done enough to win then I get the decision. That’s out of my hands. But I’ve got to just go in and do what I do, win the fight. I believe I can knock him out, I believe I can beat him on points. Whether I get the decision, that is not up to me, but you never think it’s going to happen to you. You never go in there thinking ‘they are going to rob me’, so I just got to stick to my game plan and do what I do!”

By: Bakari Simpson

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About Bakari S.2873 Articles
Bakari is a Senior Writer for 3kingsboxing.com. Visit cheetahhead.com to view more of his literary work.