Callum Smith will face Colombian operator Carlos Galvan (20-14-2, 19 KOs) in an eight-round lightweight contest this Saturday, November 30 at the Resorts World Arena, Birmingham, England.
Colombian Galvan has some pop in his punch, and as we’ve seen, Smith’s kryptonite is power punchers who apply pressure.
Galvan faced stiff opposition
You can not exclude a clash in this fight because Galvan can punch, and Smith’s chin was compromised in his last fight against Artur Beterbiev. Galvan has a lot of experience, having fought these fighters:
– Serhii Bohachuk
– Bakhram Murtazaliev
– Willie Monroe
– Janibek Alimkhanuly
– Caleb Plant
-Roamer Alexis Angulo
– Immanuel Aleem
– Javontae Starks
Interestingly, Galvan has fought better fighters overall than Callum Smith, and if you remove those fighters, his resume looks much better. Most of these fighters would beat Callum.
The 34-year-old former WBA super middleweight champion Smith (29-2, 21 KOs) will fight on the undercard of Sunny Edwards vs. Galal Yafai. The event will be shown live on DAZN.
Galvan, 33, is not the type of opponent fans were hoping to see Callum fight. However, given his inactivity and seventh-round loss to 175-b unified champion Artur Beterbiev on January 13, it’s understandable why he went in this direction.
Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn is optimistic about Smith’s future, talking about joining one of these fighters in 2025:
– Joshua Buatsi
– Anthony Yarde
– Lyndon Arthur
– Dmitri Bivol
If Hearn is serious about Callum fighting those guys in 2025, he could be in skidrow by the end of the year, sleeping in a tent on the sidewalk. Smith doesn’t beat any of those guys, not even the weakest link, Arthur.
Callum wants to stay at lightweight long enough to capture a world title before moving up to cruiserweight. Given the money Smith can make fighting Beterbiev or Bivol in Saudi Arabia, it’s understandable why he should want to stay at 175 as long as possible.
The Saudis aren’t showing much interest in the cruiserweight division right now, outside of fights involving IBF champion Jai Opetaia.
Smith’s promising career has come to a screeching halt since his 12-round unanimous decision loss to Canelo Alvarez on December 19, 2020; going into that fight, the 6’3″ Smith was seen as the #1 fighter in the 168-lb division. But that defeat took much of the air out of Smith’s career, and his only two victories they have since come against these fighters: Lenin Castillo and Mathieu Bauderlique.
