Callum Smith Next Fight: ‘Mundo’ returns to the front of the light heavyweight queue

WBO interim light heavyweight champion Callum Smith is a wanted man once again. The former WBA and The Ring super middleweight boss looked to be coming to the end of a glorious career. But a restorative win over Joshua Buatsi in a Riyadh classic back in February has made ‘Mundo’ big business once more.

Read on to find out more about Callum Smith’s next fight.

Smith could only ever be a boxer. The phrase “born for this” is bandied around a lot in sport, but ‘Mundo’ is one of those for whom the overused trope makes perfect sense. The Smith family quite simply have pugilism in their veins.

Eldest brother Paul is a Commonwealth Games silver medalist, a British champion in the pro ranks and fought for Arthur Abraham’s WBO 168lb crown. Next in line, Stephen is a Commonwealth Games gold medalist and two-time world title challenger. Next is Liam, the first of the family to win a world title. He knocked out John Thompson for the vacant WBO super welterweight crown in 2015. ‘Beefy’ made two defences of the crown before losing it to Saul Canelo Alvarez. Liam also holds a stoppage win over Chris Eubank Jr.

Callum has an excellent claim to be the best of an elite bunch. In a family that has turned out more champions than most entire boxing gyms, ‘Mundo’ might have the best resume. 

A Commonwealth Games medal is pretty much the entry fee for a Smith Christmas dinner and Callum has a silver from the 2010 event. That same year, he flexed his muscles further with gold at the GB Championships.

As a professional, Smith is a former English and European champion. Callum then ushered out the previous era of British super middleweights by dethroning WBA kingpin George Groves to win the World Boxing Super Series. Smith racked up successful defences against Hassan N'Dam N'Jikam before running into a figure well-versed in collecting British scalps.

Canelo already had one Smith brother on his resume, stopping Liam in nine rounds in 2016. The flame-haired wonder had also beaten a bevy of Brits in Matthew Hatton, Ryan Rhodes, Amir Khan and Rocky Fielding. 

Canelo would continue to batter the British when he out-scored Smith over 12 one-sided rounds in December 2020. The bout was a unification match for Smith’s WBA and The Ring straps, as well as Canelo’s WBC belt. To ram home the point, Alvarez beat Hertfordshire’s Billy Joe Saunders for the WBO belt in his next outing.

Smith regrouped and moved up in weight. At 6’3 with a long and lithe frame, it made sense to fill out and seek gold at 175lbs. The early signs were incredibly impressive. A second-round knockout of former WBA title challenger Lenin Castillo was truly frightening, with the floored Dominican’s leg convulsing as he lay on the canvas. Mathieu Bauderlique was dealt with in similarly brutal fashion, lasting four rounds before ‘Mundo’ put him out.

Both knockouts were among the finest of their respective years and a bout with Artur Beterbiev, who at the time had gone 20-0 with every fight ending inside the distance, made sense. At least from a promotional perspective. But Beterbiev is one of the greatest fighters of this generation. The WBC, WBO and IBF light heavyweight king walloped Smith in the seventh round of their title fight in Quebec in January of last year. 

This left the Liverpudlian at a crossroads. Too good for a drop down in quality but after two tough defeats, the latter particularly taxing, was there a risk that Smith would become fodder at the age of 35? 

That seemed to be the prevailing narrative when he climbed through the ropes with unbeaten Joshua Buatsi in February for the vacant WBO interim strap. In my preview of their fight, I said the following; “Times change and hurtful beatings at the hands of Canelo and Beterbiev have blunted (Smith’s) edge. Buatsi has had a comfortable existence. He doesn't win by knockout much these days, but I fancy him to score a points win”

I was not alone in that assessment. Buatsi was 8/15 with Betfred for the victory, compared to Smith’s 13/8. ‘Mundo’ was far from a rank outsider. But the feeling within the sport was that Beterbiev had taken everything that Smith had left. How wrong we were.

Smith outpointed Buatsi in an utter thriller that remains high on my list of 2025’s finest contests. Rather than being weakened by his experiences, the Scouser seemed to use his history of tough fights to outlast Buatsi. That “comfortable existence” I mentioned meant ‘Just Business’ was not as well-versed in the finer points of warfare. Buatsi put up a fine effort, but Smith left with the belt.

There is no concrete word on what Smith does next. A month ago, the WBO ordered him to defend his interim title against former two-weight kingpin David Morrell. That’s a good fight. The Cuban lost to David Benavidez in February, but rebounded by beating Tokyo 2020 gold medalist Imam Khataev via split decision in an utter thriller.

Buatsi went on Sky Sports last week and said he wants the Smith rematch. The first was enthralling but I would rather see fresh opposition for both men. Speaking of rematches, Bivol’s win in his sequel against Beterbiev, the same night Smith outlasted Buatsi, means he now holds the main WBO title. With a third Bivol-Beterbiev fight still not booked, maybe ‘Mundo’ can engineer his promised title shot?

The best part of Callum Smith’s current predicament is that it exists at all. A year ago he was written off as yesterday’s man. Six months ago he was told he’d taken a fight that was beyond him. But the 35-year-old stands here with a big win under his championship belt and a range of options. The lesson is this: never count out a Smith.

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