Callum Smith weighed in at 179.8 for his eight-round fight against Colombian veteran Carlos Galvan on Friday in their undercard bout this Saturday, November 30, at Resorts World Arena, Birmingham, England .
Weigh-In Face-Off: Smith Towers Over Galvan
During the match, the 6’3″ Smith advanced on the 5’10” Galvan, who looked uncomfortable. Former WBA 168-lb champion Smith had a blank, fishy look in his eyes as he stared down the 33-year-old Galvan.
Galvan can hit a bit, but his recent defeats against smaller players suggest he won’t last more than two rounds against Callum Smith.
Smith, 34, is coming off a seventh-round loss to joint light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev on January 13, and needs to boost his confidence. He’s not happy about being out of the ring for 11 months, and insists he’ll never be that inactive again. We will see.
First Galvan, Then Burn
‘Mundo’ Smith says he wants to fight Joshua Buatsi for his interim WBO light heavyweight title, which could put him in a position to fight the winner of Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 in the undisputed competition.
Interestingly, former WBA super middleweight champion Smith (29-2, 21 KOs), who is the most recognized fighter on the card with worldwide respect, is buried on the undercard, fighting a guy who has lost 14 times, Galvan. (20-14-2, 19 KOs) in round eight. It just shows how fast combat work can be.
Smith vs. Galvan fought on the card of Sunny Edwards vs. Galal Yafai flyweight. The two are fighting for the vacant WBC interim flyweight title, and neither guy is seen as a major talent. Sunny (21-1, 4 KOs) could soon be in the same boat as Callum Smith if he is beaten by Yafai.
“Getting back to my winning ways and hopefully playing well,” said Callum Smith speaking to Boxing News about what he hopes to achieve in his Saturday night fight with Carlos Galvan.
“I want to be world champion again. I want to go back to work again. I have always been at my best when I was busy with my work. That fight makes sense. He is the interim WBO world champion. That fight puts me closer to where I want to be. I want to be world champion,” said Callum when he fought Joshua Buatsi.
“I want to be a world champion. I am willing to fight anyone as long as they will put me closer to where I want to be. That’s a two-weight world champion. Beating Joshua Buatsi brings me closer to beating someone else,” said Smith.
Can Smith Regain World Champion Status?
Given Smith’s age and poor work situation, he needs to take a chance against Buatsi. Given Smith’s problems staying active and his failures against big names, he should take the risk. If Smith can get a big hit on Buatsi, he might be able to hurt him to finish the job.
Buatsi was scheduled for his most recent fight with Willy Hutchinson on September 21. Although Buatsi still won the fight by a 12-round decision, he looks vulnerable under the constant onslaught.
“Yes, it makes sense to me. Once I get this battle [Galvan] out of the way, we can sit down and see what that battle is [Buatsi] can be done. I’m here for you. I am not sure about his side. “I would prefer him more, even if he has other options,” said Smith.
“That’s the whole point of this fight: I’d rather go into the new year targeting players like Buatsi and all the other top names in the division than do nothing for the rest of the year,” said Smith.
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