Light heavyweight contender Callum Johnson is hoping for summer showdown with fellow puncher, Joe Smith.

Last October, Johnson felt that he was inching towards a world title victory when he dropped and hurt IBF kingpin Artur Beterbiev.

But Beterbiev recovered and would march forward to knock Johnson out in the fourth round.

Johnson (18-1, 13 KOs) bounced back in March, when he traveled to the United States and demolished Sean Monaghan in three rounds in Verona, New York. In the main event of the same card, Smith lost a twelve round decision to WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol.

Johnson has been advised that his promoter, Eddie Hearn, will attempt to get him in the ring with Smith on a date in July or August.

“There’s talk that my next fight will be out in New York again,” Johnson told Boxing News. “Eddie (Hearn, promoter) was saying he’s going to try and make the Joe Smith Jnr fight for the back end of July or August time. I think that will be at Madison Square Garden.

“I remember as a kid watching big events at Madison Square Garden. Not just boxing, but big WrestleMania events and stuff like that. To think I’ll be going there to compete in my chosen sport is a dream come true.”

Johnson likes the idea of facing Smith and believes the fight would draw a lot of fireworks.

“He’s a good fighter,” said Johnson. “He’s tough, he’s solid, he’s proven himself at world level. Obviously he lost his last fight, but it’s still an interesting fight for the fans. We can both punch and we both come to fight.

“It’s one of those fights where I just feel I’m better than him in most departments. I’m faster and I think I’ve got better feet. I just feel I do everything better than he does. At the same time, I’ll have to be on my game to win that fight."