Callum Smith will give it another shot at the world level, taking on interim WBO lightweight champion Joshua Buatsi on February 22 in Riyadh.
Buatsi is damaged?
It is a formidable obstacle that Smith has in front of him, challenging the big puncher Buatsi (19-0, 13 KOs) for his interim belt, but he took it at the right time. Buatsi, 31 years old, comes from a war with Willy Hutchinson on September 21, and he was wounded several times in that fight.
Hutchinson is not known for his power, but he showed what a fighter can do when he doesn’t quit and keep landing. It also showed that Buatsi can be hurt and vulnerable if he is hit enough. Callum had a much better power, and he could take advantage of the cracks in Buatsi’s armor that Willy revealed.
Smith, 34, was knocked out in the seventh round earlier this year by unified heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev on January 13. The 12-year pro Smith (30-2, 22 KOs) made a game effort but was outmatched by Beterbiev, who took him out with an artillery barrage in the seventh.
Smith’s power
Some of the short shots that Smith hit Beterbiev would give Buatsi massive problems because he was swinging for the fences in that fight. Artur wasn’t hard to find with his left hook, but he walked through the shots to eventually knock him down.
In his last fight, on November 30, Smith defeated the little-known Carlos Galvan in the fifth round in a confidence fight.
Former WBA super middleweight champion Smith’s career has slowed since losing his title to Canelo Alvarez four years ago in a one-sided 12-round unanimous decision loss on December 19, 2020.
Smith has only fought four times since the match against Canelo, and obviously, the money he made in that match allowed him to be inactive. If Smith is going to take advantage of the time he has left in his career, he will try to fight at least three times a year instead of an annual basis.
