Liverpool’s Callum Smith has warned Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez that he’s the number one super-middleweight fighter in the world right now, should the Mexican champion wish to return to the 168lb division.
This weekend 'Canelo' cemented his status as the pound-for-pound king of boxing when he stopped fearsome Russian Sergey Kovalev at the Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, to pick up the WBO world light-heavyweight title and become a four-weight world champion in the process.
Smith has been linked with a fight with 'Canelo' for some time now and believes a bout between the two would make sense if the latter returned to super-middleweight following his WBA title win over Rocky Fielding last December.
"I think he will come down, whether he goes back to 160[lbs] or 168[lbs], I've no idea," Smith told Sky Sports.
"I've seen an interview, saying he'd consider cruiserweight. I don't know, but if he comes to 168, I believe I'm the number one in that division, so he'll have to come and beat me to take that place.
"But I'm not going to waste my career waiting for a fight that might never happen. If it happens, it happens, if it doesn't, there's still plenty of other big fights."
The waiting game for @Canelo finally paid off in the 11th round as he found some huge shots to KO Sergey Kovalev in spectacular fashion 🇲🇽💥😱
It’s unclear what 'Canelo’s' next move in the ring is, he has a bounty of options even if he doesn't drop down to super-middleweight.
Some are holding out on the hope that he’ll drop all the way back down to middleweight to duke it out with his nemesis Gennady Golovkin for a third time. Others expect him to stay at light-heavyweight and make an assault on Artur Beterbiev’s WBC and IBF world honours, while 'Canelo' himself has expressed a willingness to jump up even further and have a crack at the cruiserweights.
If 'Canelo' and Smith do meet, and there’s potential it could be a huge stadium fight at Anfield, there’ll be some bad blood in the mix - 'Canelo' having beaten Callum’s older brother Liam at super-welterweight back in 2016.
First up for Smith however is the next defence of his WBA 'super' title against Islington’s John Ryder in his home city of Liverpool on November 23.