The all-British light-heavyweight showdown between Callum Smith and Joshua Buatsi has been years in the making but they finally clash in Riyadh on Saturday night. Ahead of the encounter, we have a look at their three best wins, in no particular order, achieved by Callum ‘Mundo’ Smith.
LENIN CASTILLO, 25.9.21, Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – TKO2
This victory was chosen ahead of Smith’s wins over the likes of Hassan N’Dam and Erik Skoglund simply for the chilling nature of the finish. Following his defeat to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in December 2020, Smith made the step up to light-heavy the following September and marked his first fight at the new weight with this brutal right-hand finish, which left Castillo – who had previously gone the distance with Dmitrii Bivol – twitching on the canvas at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium after a minute of the second.
GEORGE GROVES, 28.9.2018, King Abdullah Sports City – KO7
This was the night Smith became the first man in history to win a world title on Saudi soil – and he did it against an opponent who most considered to be No.1 in the division at the time. Groves had surged to the World Boxing Super Series final via a knockout of Jamie Cox and a points win over Chris Eubank Jr but he had no answer to the younger, fresher Smith. The Liverpool man hurt Groves with a trademark catch-and-counter left hook and his follow-up barrage was enough to end the fight – and send Groves into retirement.
ROCKY FIELDING, 7.11.2015, Echo Arena – TKO1
This felt like a real coming of age night for Smith, in an all-Liverpool derby against the more experienced Rocky Fielding at the Echo Arena. He took the occasion in his stride and turned in a devastating performance, dropping Fielding three times in the first before the fight was stopped with 15 seconds left of the round. Fielding, who was 21-0 at the time, did his best to rise from the third and final knockdown but referee Phil Edwards had no choice but to wave it off.
