SAN ANTONIO – Callum Smith’s subpar performance against John Ryder might’ve been just what Smith needed.
The unbeaten WBA “super” 168-pound champion noticed that Canelo Alvarez and other top super middleweights mentioned fighting him more after he struggled during his 12-round title defense against Ryder in November 2019. Smith defeated Ryder by unanimous decision, but many of Smith’s critics contend Ryder deserved better than Smith’s margin of victory on all three scorecards (117-111, 116-112, 116-112).
Regardless, Smith senses that the vulnerabilities he displayed during that match might’ve made him a more appealing opponent than he was before boxing Ryder. Alvarez told BoxingScene.com on Thursday that he never actually watched the Smith-Ryder fight, primarily because Ryder is a southpaw.
Nevertheless, Smith (27-0, 19 KOs) will defend his title against Alvarez (53-1-2, 36 KOs) on Saturday night at Alamodome, where they’ll also fight for the vacant WBC super middleweight title.
“Watching me in that fight, it looks like maybe 168 has taken a little bit out of me,” Smith told BoxingScene.com in reference to the Ryder fight. “Because before that fight, Canelo never really mentioned me. After the [Hassan] N’Dam fight, after the [George] Groves fight, I wasn’t really in their plans. And then, the minute I perform bad, they start mentioning me. Maybe that has got something to do with it. But as I’ve said, if that version of me turns up, then, you know, I’ll lose this fight. But if the best version of me turns up, I believe I win this fight.”
The 30-year-old Smith, of Liverpool, England, hasn’t fought since struggling against Ryder (29-5, 16 KOs), who picked up a win Friday night on the Gennadiy Golovkin-Kamil Szeremeta undercard at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino in Hollywood, Florida. London’s Ryder, 32, won a ten round unanimous decision over Mike Guy (12-5-1, 5 KOs), of Sacramento, California, in his first fight since testing Smith.
“Listen, he’s short, he’s awkward, he’s southpaw,” Smith said of Ryder. “Tactically, he was OK on the night. But as I said afterward, that version of me loses to some of the other champions. Listen, [Ryder has] paid his dues. He’s had a good career, and he’s fighting this weekend, and I’m sure he’ll get himself back in the mix. But I just think that version of me, other fighters would’ve probably beat me.”
The 30-year-old Alvarez picked Smith on relatively short notice for this fight after agreeing earlier this year to box WBO super middleweight champ Billy Joe Saunders. Mexico’s Alvarez and England’s Saunders (30-0, 14 KOs) were tentatively set to square off May 2 in Las Vegas, but that event never was officially announced due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
“I don’t really know what Canelo’s reasons was for taking this fight,” Smith said. “But the minute I under-performed, I had people wanting to fight me, whereas before no one was wanting to fight me. So, yeah, I think [the Ryder fight] has been a bit of a blessing in disguise. But I’ve just gotta make sure that version of me doesn’t turn up again.”
Alvarez and Smith will headline an eight-fight card that DAZN will stream, starting at 8 p.m. EST and 5 p.m. PST. A portion of the show will be available through traditional pay-per-view providers as well, for $69.99.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.