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Canelo vs Smith is for the WBA and WBC super middleweight titles
There have been many Britons who have ventured abroad in search of an outcome that would be talked about for generations to come: one or two came home in the middle of a glorious celebration, the vast majority with their tails between their legs and only stories of your bravery and courage to hold on.
But there is something special about taking on the challenge of Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez, a true superstar in the United States and Mexico who is simultaneously in the handful of elite boxers on the planet and also at his absolute peak.
It might be the toughest test available in any boxing ring but oddly enough, it’s one that Liverpool’s Callum Smith has sought for two years – reality may be cruel, but he has flown to Canelo’s heart with a genuine and understandable ambition to return. immortalized in boxing folklore. .
But Smith is the hunted, not the hunter, and this stark understanding may be falling on him amid the loneliness of San Antonio, where Smith awaits the first stroke with the familiarity of his brothers and their trainer Joe Gallagher but deep in enemy territory .
It’s a possession that Smith has, the WBA super middleweight championship, that’s the reason Canelo selected him as his opponent on Saturday.
Victory for Canelo would strengthen his grip on the division – he’s a four-weight world champion, but his previous achievement at super middleweight left room for improvement, which he plans to tackle by ending Smith’s unbeaten streak and ripping off his belt. .
The vacant WBC belt will also be on the line, meaning the winner will be consensus number one, but the stakes are much higher for Smith.
Facing one of boxing’s veritable superstars in his own backyard (Texas is a hotbed of Canelo fans), Smith dares to do what Ricky Hatton tried and failed against Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao.
There are modern success stories: Tyson Fury in Germany against Wladimir Klitschko and in Las Vegas against Deontay Wilder earlier this year, but neither of those examples perfectly replicates what Smith is supposed to do by causing a big surprise against a supreme pound-for-pound who It has never looked better than now.
0:44 Canelo knocked out Sergey Kovalev the last time
2:51 A first round knockout of Callum Smith
“Canelo is fantastic,” admired promoter Eddie Hearn.
“I had Rocky Fielding and Danny Jacobs fighting him. He said to me after the Jacobs fight, ‘Who do you have now?’
“The answer is: ‘The best super middleweight in the world.’
“This is a battle of the No. 1 pound for pound in the world against the No. 1 super middleweight.”
It is also a battle between the heads of two fighting families, the toughest brothers in two bands of boxing brothers.
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The red-haired Mexican whose nickname translates to “canela” is the youngest of seven siblings from Guadalajara who all boxed professionally; He was in the ring himself for the first time at age 15, which means he has been a professional wrestler for exactly 50 percent of his life, a reminder of how long he has on his teeth.
And Callum is the youngest of the four Smith brothers to have fought – Liam Smith has even traveled the exact same path, but was defeated by Canelo in Texas in 2016.
Liam is a different weight class and a completely different fighter than Callum, who has not lost in 27 and whose best result so far was knocking out George Groves in the final of the World Boxing Super Series.
0:55 See how Canelo swept Rocky Fielding
0:24 Watch Callum Smith’s brutal one-hit KO
“Callum has a big size advantage, he hits really hard, he has a reach advantage,” said his promoter Hearn.
“But he is number one pound for pound in the sport.
“At the moment, neither of them could look you in the eye and tell you that they had an ideal camp; the fight was made four weeks in advance even though they were both training before.
“Callum is there to win. He and [his trainer] Joe Gallagher thinks they can win this fight.
“In terms of surprises, it is difficult, since number one is the division, to call it a surprise, but it would be.
“It would be one of the great British victories of all time.
“He’s there to win. He wanted this fight, he wanted to make this statement, now he has it.”
Canelo is a champion of four pesos
Smith is the defending WBA champion
Five Brits have tried and failed to beat Canelo (Matthew Hatton, Ryan Rhodes, Amir Khan, Liam Smith, Rocky Fielding); the only blemish on his impressive record is a 2013 loss to Floyd Mayweather. Canelo was just a kid back then, and that experience made him smarter and stronger.
The danger for Smith is that he has been hand-picked because Canelo sees a path to victory for himself in the same way he did when he seemingly bravely moved up two divisions to challenge Sergey Kovalev last year, only to slowly dismantle the Russian light. -Heavyweight champion.
There is a story of another brave Liverpool fighter who faced a legend from Mexico: Andy Holligan, in 1993, was the British and Commonwealth champion when he received the opportunity of a lifetime to challenge Julio César Chávez, a ring icon. of all times.
Chávez was undefeated in 89 at the time and, in front of 30,000 adoring fans inside Puebla’s Cuauhtémoc Stadium on a frosty night, he hit Holligan for five one-sided rounds until the Liverpool fighter was taken out his corner, with the face already badly made a mess.
The Mexicans who attended were furious: they wanted to see their hero inflict an even worse beating on the hopeful visitor.
Five Britons already tried and couldn’t beat Canelo
Only a limited number will be inside the Alamodome in San Antonio on Saturday night, none in Liverpool, except those in Smith’s corner.
Everyone is turning out to see Canelo rack up the 54th win of his already great career, but there could be some indifference in the air about the danger posed by this latest British visitor.
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