CALLUM SMITH says motivation and goals will be key to whether he continues his boxing career.
Last Saturday night (January 13) in Quebec, Canada the 33-year-old became the 20th victim of Artur Beterbiev’s destructive power.
Boxing News collected 44 predictions from British and Irish boxing personalities with 27 picking Smith to win. However, Beterbiev made a mockery of those forecasts by overpowering Smith with typically relentless pressure, eventually breaking down and stopping the Liverpudlian in round seven.
“There’s things I’d do different,” Smith told Boxing News last night (January 20) at Liverpool’s Echo Arena. “The inactivity killed me. Not just the Beterbiev fight. The inactivity’s probably killed the last few years of my career in terms of trying to be at my absolute best. I’ve never got any momentum going over the past however many years, but I believed I was good enough to go over there and still do a job. I came up short.”
Smith now plans to take some time away with his family before getting married in the summer. Having won the super-middleweight World Boxing Super Series and the WBA strap in 2018 against George Groves, the aim for Smith had always been to become a two-weight champion. However, his move to light-heavyweight has resulted in just three fights since September 2021.
With Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol rumoured to be facing one another for all the belts in Saudi Arabia this year, it leaves a slew of contenders seeking the best fights possible before another title opportunity comes their way. But will Callum Smith still be one of those contenders?
“I never really planned on being sat here in this position,” he told BN. “I planned on sitting here [as] world champion, going to fight Bivol for undisputed and probably call it a day after that. I always wanted to retire as a world champion and retire on my terms. Andre Ward, Joe Calzaghe, I always took inspiration from those; want to get out early rather than late. I’m not making any decisions. I’ll probably find it hard walking away knowing I never quite fulfilled what I set out to do.
“It was always about goals and achievements. If I can find goals that’ll motivate me and get me in the gym, I’ll carry on boxing as long as needs be.”
Despite losing only a week ago, Smith’s name has already been paired with Anthony Yarde in many hypothetical Matchroom vs. Queensberry lists, this following the announcement of a planned “five vs. five” event in Saudi Arabia later in the year.
“That’s a good fight,” Smith said of the matchup. “Outside the world champions it’s one of the better fights to make in the division. It’s definitely a fight that motivates you. It’s definitely a fight that is an option, regardless of what decision I make in the future. All of the belts are going to be tied up so it’s going to leave everyone else to sit and make fights with each other. At some point you’ve just to get in there and fight for pride and if it’s a good fight, it’s a good fight.”
