Callum Smith looking forward after loss to Canelo Alvarez

Callum Smith got by far the biggest fight of his career this past Saturday night, but came up well short in a losing effort against Canelo Alvarez in San Antonio.

Smith (27-1, 19 KO) dropped the WBA super middleweight title in the fight, where Canelo also won the vacant WBC belt and announced for sure that he’s the new top dog at 168 pounds.

While Canelo obviously has his pick of the litter when it comes to next fights, the 30-year-old Smith will have to figure out what to do next.

“Not the result I wanted and losing for the first time is a tough pill to swallow,” Smith wrote on Instagram. “I had a dream of becoming a world champion and was lucky enough to achieve that. To lose something you’ve worked your whole life for is hard. Saturday just wasn’t my night. Time to switch off now and spend some time with my amazing family. See you all soon.”

Smith also struggled in his prior fight, a controversial Nov. 2019 win over John Ryder at home in Liverpool, and will now have to decide if he wants to try to stay at 168, where he’s huge for the weight, or move up to 175, where he will also be huge for the weight. At 168, he could potentially get an immediate WBO title fight with Billy Joe Saunders, who is also promoted by Matchroom Boxing — if Saunders doesn’t get Canelo next, Smith would be about as big a fight as is out there for Billy Joe, probably. At 175, three of the titles are in the Top Rank circle, but the WBA belt held by Dmitry Bivol could be in player for Smith after he tunes up, perhaps.

He’ll have options. They’re not as glamorous as Canelo’s, obviously, but Callum Smith isn’t going to just go away, either. He’s still going to be a player at 168 or 175 for a while.