It appears that the next opponent for WBA, WBC, IBF and Ring light heavyweight champion Dmitrii Bivol will be WBO mandatory challenger Callum Smith. The date of the fight has yet to be determined, as Bivol must first recover from surgery, but many observers have already expressed skepticism about Smith’s chances of making the contest competitive.
Much of that skepticism stems from the fact that the only two fighters to defeat Smith as a professional—Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Artur Beterbiev—have both already been beaten by Bivol. However, the British contender is not concerned by the unfavorable predictions and believes he can shock the boxing world. Here’s what he had to say:
Look, he’s a very good fighter and he may beat fighters that I can’t beat, as he’s done, but styles make fights in boxing. Just because A beat B and B beats C doesn’t mean A beats C, and I’ve got to just go in there, use my skills, use my attributes and make sure the best version of me turns up. And if that’s the case, then I’m always fully confident in beating anyone.
We boxed as amateurs, so I knew of him a long time, probably before a lot of the boxing community did. I think people got to know him when he signed with Matchroom and then obviously went on to become world champion and beat Canelo and Beterbiev, but I boxed him, I think it was 2011 or 2012. I think he’d just won world junior gold, so I’ve always knew how good he was.
We had a good fight and just, stylistically, I think I can beat him. But I know there’s going to be doubters out there because he’s beat the two people who’ve beat me. But I’ve just got to block that out and focus on myself.