Callum Smith: Never Felt I was Behind
In the sport of boxing, one of the most deadly mistakes one can commit is overlooking their current opponent while thinking about the next. The day after the Smith v Ryder main event it looks like that is exactly what Callum “Mundo” Smith (27-0, 19 KO’s) did. Still, it’s not hard to understand why Smith may have taken his eye off the ball.
PUTTING THE CART BEFORE THE HORSE
Going into the prizefight, Mundo was the WBC diamond, WBA world super middleweight and Ring Magazine champion. Along with these prestigious titles, Smith had a secured 2020 fight date at the infamous Anfield Stadium located in the UK.
With the massive venue in hand, Team Smith had openly begun speculating on bouts with marquee names like David “Red Flag” Benavidez, Gennady “GGG” Golovkin and Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Perhaps that was a major miscalculation. Once in the ring, Smith got off to the early lead that common perception thought that he would.
The evening was fairly smooth sailing, at least until they reached the middle rounds. After finding his bearings, John “The Gorilla” Ryder (28-5, 16 KO’s) made it a rough and tumble bout. He gave Smith all the trouble he could handle. Although, more than a few observers felt as if the Gorilla had done more than enough to win when the final bell rang.
When the scorecards were read however, it was discovered that Smith had won by an outrageously wide margin. Had he claimed a narrow points win, its unlikely that anyone would have caused any sort of fuss. Yet, with the cards being as biased as they were, a great deal of dust has been kicked up.
“I always felt ahead…when Lee told me Sky has it quite close I maybe panicked a little bit. Me myself I never once thought I was behind in the fight…I always want to win the best way possible. I’m not happy with the performance but I thought it was 8-4 in rounds.”
I’LL BE BACK!!
Following the fight, Smith thought that he had won, but did acknowledge that he had a flat performance. Mundo did not try to distract away from the Gorilla’s solid outing. The WBA champion gave him his just due. However, he simply felt as though he’d done enough to prevail. In fact, in his estimation, there was never a point in the fight when the prizefight was in doubt.
Unsurprisingly, Team Ryder would like to stage an immediate rematch. Although, its rather unlikely that this will be granted. Mundo still has his eyes set on his big date at Anfield Stadium. And if he has anything to say about it, he wants to secure a big name opponent when he does fight there.
If anything, the lack of a marquee level foe was a large part Smith’s lukewarm showing. As he revealed in the post-fight conference, Callum Smith is the type of fighter who rises, or falls apparently, to his level of competition. In the event that Mundo is able to pen a fight with a top flight fighter, he believes that there will be a night and day difference in his performance.
Guess we’ll just have wait and see who Smith can secure for his next bout and how he handles himself in the ring. No matter who or where he fights, the boxing world will be watching close.
“I want a big fight. Honestly I think, not making an excuse tonight, but I think I need to have that fear factor. I’ve always had that even before tonight…that fear brings out the best in me and I’ve always said people will see how good I am when I’m in against the very best. And I’ve got a great team around me to provide me them fights and 2020 I feel is the year. Make or break for me, lets see how good I really am.”
By: Bakari Simpson
