Froch: I'm Very Confident Callum Smith Beats Anthony Dirrell

by Edward Chaykovsky

Retired former world champion Carl Froch is tipping super middleweight contender Callum Smith (22-0, 17 KOs) to beat Anthony Dirrell (30-1-1, 24 KOs) - if the two boxers are ordered to face each other for the vacant title.

On Wednesday, Badou Jack announced that he was vacating the WBC super middleweight crown and heading up to 175-pounds to pursue a world title fight against the WBC champion at light heavyweight, Adonis Stevenson.

Both Smith and Froch were ringside last Saturday night at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, when Jack fought IBF champion James DeGale to a disputed twelve round majority draw.

Smith was hoping to fight Jack, who is far better known to the UK audience for his fights with George Groves and DeGale.

What seems like an eternity ago, Froch won a close decision over older brother Andre Dirrell in Nottingham - which was part of the Super Six tournament on Showtime.

Froch views Anthony as being the more dangerous of the two but he believes Smith has what it takes to beat him.

"It's a good fight for Callum Smith," Froch told Sky Sports. "He's the more dangerous of the two Dirrell brothers, because he can punch. But I think Callum Smith has got the beating of Anthony Dirrell.

"Badou Jack beat him, so it's a good fight to gauge Smith. For a world title, you've got to fight somebody, and he will certainly find out where he is. He's certainly ready for someone like Dirrell. It's a perfect sort of fight for a vacant title. That is a fight that I would be very confident Callum Smith could and should win. If he's going on to be a world champion, then that's a fight that he needs to be winning."

Dirrell lost the WBC title in 2014 when he dropped a majority decision to Jack in his very first defense. He's won three straight since then, and returned earlier this month to stop Norbert Nemesapati in six rounds.