Callum Smith: Canelo has to go through me if he wants 168lb supremacy

WBA super middleweight titleholder (and WBC ‘diamond’ champion) Callum Smith 26-0, 19 KOs) is set to defend his belts against John Ryder on November 23, and while mostly everyone believes he should cruise pretty easily in that matchup, Smith discusses the speculation that Canelo Alvarez could move down to his territory following his world title win over Sergey Kovalev this past Saturday.

“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 No 1 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.”

A potential 168lb fight against Smith would be a very intriguing fight for Canelo, and likely a much more dangerous matchup than the light heavyweight contest he was just in. Styles make fights and at age 29, Smith appears to be in his physical prime — just like Canelo.

If there’s one fighter for Canelo to face next between 168 and 175lbs, who do you think would be the single best opponent for him?