In the coming months, Callum Smith was expecting to take part in his first domestic mega-bout on UK soil.
Smith is scheduled to face WBA super middleweight champion George Groves in the final bout of the World Boxing Super Series super middleweight tournament.
One would expect that bout to take place in a major venue in the UK - but WBSS executive Kalle Sauerland made it clear earlier this week that Groves vs. Smith is likely not taking place in the on UK soil - with Saudi Arabia being mentioned as a potential location for the fight.
At the moment the exact date of the fight is not clear, because Groves suffered an injury during his February win over Chris Eubank Jr. - so the bout with Smith, which was initially scheduled to take place in June - got pushed back to the fall.
“Two Brits outside of Britain, it’s a bit unusual but I think this tournament has been a bit unusual from the start, it’s been a little bit different like the Champion’s League. They’re doing well so far. I’ve just got to stick by what they say and do my job in the ring and win,” Callum said to Boxing News.
“It’s a bit strange, to be honest with you, a big domestic fight with two Brits, 99 times out of a hundred you’d think it would be in Britain. But it doesn’t really phase me too much. Regardless of where the fight is, it’s a level playing field for both of us.”
The wait has been long, but Smith is not bothered. He's willing to wait as long as possible to get Groves in the ring. A win over Groves would be a career-defining victory for him.
“It’s frustrating,” Smith said but added, “It was supposed to be early June, then end of June and what not. It’s been a while. But it’s the fight I want and I said I was prepared to wait however long it took to get this fight. So I can’t really complain about the fact that I’m waiting to get this fight.”
