IT IS now more than six years since Callum Smith beat George Groves to become not only world champion but also the best in his weight class on the planet.
But the victory which should have catapulted him towards superstardom instead kicked off a frustrating period of inactivity, controversial decisions and two defeats in six fights.
The second of those, inside seven rounds against the great Artur Beterbiev in January, looked like it might just be the end for Smith, a father with a wedding scheduled. In the wake of that loss in Quebec City, Smith had wondered out loud if he’s not going to be the No.1 in the division again, what is the point of carrying on.
However, late on Sunday November 17, Matchroom surprisingly announced that Smith would be returning, and quickly, with a spot on the undercard of the bill topped by Sunny Edwards and Galal Yafai on November 30 now confirmed.
And, although it may feel like Smith has been away for a while, his outing in Birmingham will mean he has boxed twice in the same calendar year for the first time since 2018 when he beat Groves for the world super-middleweight title. And, for him, activity will be the key for his second coming.
Averaging only one fight per year since beating Groves, with a combined total of just 40 rounds boxed across them, Smith is the first to admit that the stuttering pace of his career since becoming world champion has been the root of his problems.
“If I’m going to go again, I’m going to do it properly,” a bullish Smith tells Boxing News. “I can’t expect to be at my best when I’m this inactive.
“In between my last four fights I had 17 months off, 11 months, 10 months and then 13 months before Canelo. It’s impossible to be the best version of myself when I’m going into fights off the back of that inactivity.
“I’ve always felt that I’m at my best when I’m active and fighting regularly. I’m going to give it one more shot, do it properly and get back fighting regularly. Over the last few years, it has been very stop-start and getting to fight week it has felt like it’s new again and I’m making my debut because it has been such a long time since my last fight.”
The obvious question, therefore, is who exactly is to blame for the long bouts of inactivity? Before winning that WBA super-middleweight title from Groves in the September of 2018, the Liverpool puncher had raced to 24-0 in his first six years as a pro. Now, another six years on, he is 29-2.
“I don’t know whose fault it is really,” he says. “I think the first bit after winning the title was maybe because I was world champion and we were trying to headline our own show. Then, if not, maybe due to wages, you have to go on something like a Joshua undercard.
“I remember the Joshua card getting pushed back so I had to wait for that. It’s not really anyone’s fault. Some people go missing for months partying and stuff but I don’t. I live a clean life, always in the gym and always ready to fight.
“Over the last few years, I’ve been massively inactive and I do think it has killed my progress. Early in my career it was the complete opposite and I was very, very active. I had nine fights in my first year and the same the year after. I felt like I was bouncing from fight to fight so you get momentum and you walk to the ring thinking you’re invincible.
“So this time I sat down and assessed a lot of things and decided if I’m going to go again I’m going to do it my way, get active again instead of trying to go into a big fight off the back of a year or more of inactivity.”
But Smith also admits that he considered retirement in the wake of the punishing stoppage defeat to Beterbiev. It was the second loss of his career, following on from his one against Saul Alvarez in 2020, but this one felt different.
“The Canelo one was hard because it was my first loss and he took my world title off me but I kind of knew that I was done at super-middleweight,” Smith explains.
“Moving up gave me a clean break where I could set new goals. But with the Beterbiev one I wasn’t planning on moving up so it was clear that I was playing second fiddle to someone. I couldn’t say I’m the best in the world when I’d just lost to someone in the same weight division.
“Losing was hard to take but time away has made me realise what it is I want and we will get back on the horse and go again. I believed I’d be the best in the world when I turned professional. I’d done it at super-middle and I moved up with the same ambition.
“There are boxers who just love boxing and love fighting for the sake of fighting, that’s never been me. I’m in boxing because I want to be the best and losing to Beterbiev was a tough one to take. I wasn’t thinking ‘oh there are still good fights out there for me’, I wanted all the belts. If it didn’t look like it would become available for a while, it was more about finding what would motivate me to get back in the gym.
“That’s where I stepped away from boxing and probably didn’t go in a boxing gym for six or seven months. I got back in just to get back a bit of routine and I really started enjoying punching again. Physically and mentally, I don’t think I’m anywhere near the end. It was more just ambition wise because I’ve been the best in the world, I’ve been No.1, I’ve made good money from boxing so I’ve ticked all the boxes.
“Now it’s just about what will motivate me and I believe I’m good enough to be a two-weight world champion. If I didn’t, I’d be sitting at home on the couch.”
The good news for Smith in that endeavour is that his division looks like one about to change dramatically. Beterbiev, who turns 40 in January, holds all the belts following his narrow victory over Dmitry Bivol in October but there is every chance they will fragment in 2025. That means opportunities for all the other runners and riders, and Smith is now ready to jostle for position alongside them.
“Walking away would feel like a big missed opportunity,” Smith says. “I need to be ready so if the belts do become vacant, and there’s a bit of a free-for-all, I’m in a position where I’m ready to take them. The plan now is to get back active and make sure I’m there. That’s what November 30 is about – win there and go into the new year in position.
“I still believe that the best version of me can beat anyone. I know I can. I just have to make sure the best version of me turns up – and that’s about getting active.”
That starts on Saturday at the BP Pulse Arena, Birmingham, against an as yet unnamed opponent. Smith’s recent return to punching has been partly facilitated by his brother Stephen, now a coach of real promise, but the 34-year-old says he will still be working with Buddy McGirt long-term.
“There’s no split with me and Buddy but I didn’t really know this fight was happening,” he adds. “I wasn’t in camp so I wasn’t going to go over to America without a date. Then I wasn’t going to bring Buddy over if I didn’t have a fight confirmed. It’s only just been made now so I’ll speak to him now about the situation for this fight.
“But moving forward it will be Buddy and my brother Stephen, who has helped me a lot over the last few months. I’ll be doing bits with the both of them but there’s no split from Buddy, it’s just circumstance.
“This one is just about getting out. It would be good to finish the year with a win and then hopefully bounce into the new year on a high.”
