YOU probably werenโt wondering why Callum Smith is called โMundo.โ But we found out anyway.
Smith, as well as winning the British and European titles in his rise, picked up a WBC Diamond title when he beat Erik Skoglund on points over 12 rounds in the quarter-final of the World Boxing Super Series. He has ambitions to win a world title and the Muhammad Ali Trophy at the end of the tournament.
He explains why his fighting nickname is โMundo.โ โMy dad called me it when I was a kid. I was obsessed with the Turtles, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Thereโs Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, Raphael and my dad used to call me Callemundo, saying youโre the fifth turtle. I had a shell backpack and all that. โCallemundoโ and I was made up with it,โ he said.
โThey started to call me Mundo, the โCallโ dropped and itโs just stuck. All the people closest to me as a kid call me it and when I went to boxing gyms, there were people in the gym who knew me as a kid, calling me it and it sort of stuck. When I was turning pro I was stuck for a name and now itโs caught on.โ
โBut it means โworldโ in Spanish, which looks like itโs a bit of an omen if I become world champion. Itโs not too bad at all,โ Smith noted.
He added, โ[His brother] Stephenโs little lad Frankie is into the Turtles now so Iโll be watching them with him.โ
Donโt miss next weekโs issue of Boxing News for a full interview with Callum Smith.