Home Boxing News Callum Smith targeting Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin in 2020

Callum Smith targeting Canelo Alvarez and Gennady Golovkin in 2020

Photo credit: Lawrence Lustig

Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez 52-1-2 (35) could be heading to London to face Callum Smith 25-0 (18) at Wembley Stadium but it may have to wait until 2020, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.

WBA super middleweight champion Smith is set to return to the ring against veteran Hassan N’Dam 37-3 (21) on the undercard of unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua’s title defence against Andy Ruiz Jr at Madison Square Garden in New York City this Saturday night.

It will be the 29-year-old Smith’s first fight since dethroning George Groves in September last year.

If successful against N’Dam, Hearn wants the Liverpool pug to fight twice more before rolling the dice in a “legacy fight” against Alvarez or Gennady Golovkin.

“The great thing for Smith is that Canelo is calling out his name, normally it would be the other way around,” the Matchroom Boxing boss told Sky Sports.

“Once you win a world title and once you defend it and maybe unify, that’s when you need legacy fights. The legacy fight for Smith is Canelo or even GGG. They have the potential to move up to 168lbs and those fights could fill any arena or the stadium in the UK.

“Wherever Canelo says it’s on, we’re going. Wembley is attractive to Canelo, he has mentioned that quite a bit. It’s likely though that Canelo fights GGG in September.

“I want to get Callum out again quickly if he wins, at home in Liverpool in September, then try another defence in December, raising the profile and then we go for broke next year.”

Smith is aware of the big fights on the horizon but insists he is not overlooking the tough challenge of N’Dam.

“There are a lot of massive fights out there for me potentially, especially in the USA. A big performance puts my name out there to a different audience,” Smith said.

“N’Dam is a good fighter, a former world champion, it’s a massive opportunity for him. The best version of me beats any version of N’Dam, I believe I can beat anyone at 12 stone.

“Walking to a ring as world champion will be special, but it all disappears if I slip up here, that’s the motivation.”