Smith, Ryder Make Weight For Super Middleweight Title Fight

Callum Smith is officially set for his first homecoming appearance in more than two years.

The unbeaten super middleweight titlist did job as did mandatory challenger John Ryder at Friday’s weigh-in, both hitting the mark for their title fight Saturday evening at Echo Arena in Liverpool, England.

Smith (26-0, 19KOs) tipped the scales at 167.4 pounds for the second defense of his version of the super middleweight title. London’s Ryder (28-4, 16KOs) weighed the same as the defending titlist, sporting a sculpted physique for his first career title fight.

Saturday’s contest—which live on Sky Sports in the United Kingdom and streams live on DAZN in the United States—marks the first hometown appearance for Liverpool’s Smith since a 12-round win over Erik Skoglund. Their Sept. 2017 clash kicked off Smith’s run in the World Boxing Super Series super middleweight tournament, capping the series with a 7^th round knockout of George Groves to claim the title last September in Jeddah, South Africa.

Smith became the second member of his fighting family to claim a belt, as the youngest of four boxing brothers hit paydirt three years after older brother Liam Smith claimed a super welterweight title. Paul and Stephen Smith have both been unsuccessful in their respective title bids.

Just one fight has followed, a 2^nd round knockout of Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam this past June in New York City. The nine-month gap between fights was attributed in part to Smith spending time with his wife and family, which gained a member with the birth of his daughter this past January.

Hopes of ending the year with a super fight gave way to honoring his mandatory title obligations, with Ryder properly earning his place at the table. The 31-year old Londoner has stormed into the mandatory slot on the strength of four straight knockout wins. Ryder landed the number-one ranking with a 7^th round knockout of previously unbeaten Andrey Sirotkin last October.

Waiting out his first title shot, Ryder agreed to a showdown versus an undefeated challenger in Australia’s Bilal Akkawy, with an interim version of the super middleweight title at stake. Ryder turning a potentially dangerous fight into a spectacular showcase as he scored a 2^nd round knockout on the undercard of Saul Alvarez’s three-belt middleweight title unification win over Daniel Jacobs this past May in Las Vegas, Nevada. 

Both boxers are jockeying for position in the Alvarez sweepstakes. The Mexican icon and reigning World middleweight champion is fresh off of an 11th round knockout of Sergey Kovalev to win a light heavyweight title this past November.

The win was his third divisional title claim inside of a year, having also netted a secondary version of the super middleweight strap with a 3rd round knockout of Rocky Fielding last December. The full version of that title is at stake in Saturday's contest, making the winner an enticing option for the sport's most lucrative attraction. 

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox