Smith: I won’t do a Joshua
ANTHONY JOSHUA’S shock defeat by Andy Ruiz Junior has been at the forefront of Callum Smith’s mind as he prepares to face John Ryder in Liverpool on Saturday.
Smith knows he has some blockbusting options ahead of him in 2020 if he successfully defends his WBA Super world supermiddleweight title at the
Echo Arena.
Clashes with megastars of the fight game, Saul Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin, or a unification fight against WBO champion and Matchroom Boxing stablemate Billy Joe Saunders have been mooted.
But Joshua had a huge fight ahead of him, in the shape of Deontay Wilder for a shot to become undisputed heavyweight champion of the world, but he fluffed his lines against Ruiz.
Now Smith insists he won’t make the same mistake of overlooking Ryder (above), his mandatory challenger with the WBA.
He said: “It’s about respecting every opponent.
“I’ve been around boxing long enough to see the better man doesn’t always win.
“My last fight was on the undercard of Anthony Joshua versus Andy Ruiz and a lot of people had that down as an easy one- or two-round win.
“Now Joshua is sitting there as a challenger, hoping to try to get his belts back.
“So you have to be switched on in every fight.
“Obviously, when your name is getting talked about with Canelo and Golovkin and Saunders and then all of a sudden you have to deal with a mandatory, your mind can wander.
“But I’ve always been very patient with boxing and I’ve always thought, ‘Things will come, providing I just keep winning’.
“There’s a possible Anfield fight and unification fight in 2020, but they will all disappear if I slip up on November 23.
“You think of the future and try to envisage what’s possible and fighting in Liverpool as a world champion was always something I dreamed of.”