‘Mundo’ rejuvenated his career in 2021 by moving up a weight class after suffering a difficult loss against the biggest star in the sport.
Callum Smith made the call to leave super middleweight behind following his defeat to Canelo Alvarez in 2020 which saw him lose the WBA and Ring titles.
This weekend at The Last Crescendo, the 34-year-old will compete for the fifth time since moving up to light heavyweight when Smith takes on Joshua Buatsi in Saudi Arabia.
The card may have had to weather some changes on fight week with Shakur Stevenson receiving a replacement opponent but it still promises to be one of the best fight cards in some time.
Before Smith looks to earn his biggest win to date in the division, it’s worth remembering how he demonstrated his devastating power on his light heavyweight debut.
Callum Smith produced a scary knockout over Lenin Castillo on his light heavyweight debut
On the same night that Anthony Joshua faced Oleksandr Usyk for the first time, Callum Smith looked to announce himself in the light heavyweight division.
His debut opponent would be Dominica’s Lenin Castillo who had faced off with Dmitry Bivol just two fights before he arrived in London.
In the second round of their bout, Smith brought a swift ending to the contest after landing a devastating overhand right that sent Castillo crashing to the canvas.
Warning signs immediately began to sound as Castillo started shaking with medical staff quickly responding to the situation and getting him out of the ring on a stretcher.
Eddie Hearn put fans at ease shortly after when he confirmed that the boxer was “responsive” on his way to the hospital with Smith stating in his post-fight interview that he felt bad for celebrating once he realized what condition his opponent was in.
Callum Smith postponed retirement to face Joshua Buatsi
Callum Smith admitted that after his knockout loss to Artur Beterbiev in January last year, he contemplated hanging up the gloves for good.
The 30-2 Brit told Sky Sports Boxing in a recent interview on fight week that his reason for sticking around was his bout this weekend against Joshua Buatsi.
Along with the interim WBO world light heavyweight title being on the line, handing the 31-year-old the first loss of his pro career would be a big win for Smith at this stage in his career.
“I just realized that I hadn’t fully achieved what I believe I’m capable of and there was rumors that this fight was gonna happen and it was the fight that motivated me. I always said it was a motivational thing, if there was something that was gonna get me back in the gym and make me want to make the sacrifices, then I’ll do it and this fight was offered and it’s a fight that I like and it gives me a great opportunity to be back to where I want to be.”
In a stacked run of seven world title fights on Saturday night in Riyadh, Smith will face Buatsi in the second clash on the main card.