Callum Smith will face Colombian journeyman Carlos Galvan (20-14-2, 19 KOs) in an eight-round light heavyweight contest this Saturday, November 30, at the Resorts World Arena, Birmingham, England.
The Colombian Galvan has some pop in his punch, and we’ve seen, Smith’s kryptonite is power punchers that apply pressure.
Galvan Has Faced Tough Opposition
One can’t rule out an upset in this fight because Galvan can punch, and Smith’s chin was compromised in his last fight against Artur Beterbiev. Galvan has a lot of experience, having fought these fighters:
– Serhii Bohachuk
– Bakhram Murtazaliev
– Willie Monroe
– Janibek Alimkhanuly
– Caleb Plant
– Roamer Alexis Angulo
– Immanuwel Aleem
– Javontae Starks
Interestingly, Galvan has fought better fighters overall than Callum Smith, and if you remove those fighters, his resume would look a lot better. Most of those fighters would beat Callum.
The 34-year-old former WBA super middleweight champion Smith (29-2, 21 KOs) will be fighting on the undercard of Sunny Edwards vs. Galal Yafai. The event will be shown live on DAZN.
Galvan, 33, isn’t the type of opponent that fans were hoping to see Callum fight. Still, given his inactivity and his seventh-round knockout loss to unified 175-b champion Artur Beterbiev on January 13th, it’s understandable why he’s gone in this direction.
Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn is optimistic about Smith’s future, talking about matching him against one of these fighters in 2025:
– Joshua Buatsi
– Anthony Yarde
– Lyndon Arthur
– Dmitry Bivol
If Hearn is serious about Callum fighting those guys in 2025, he could be on skidrow by the end of the year, sleeping in a tent on the sidewalk. Smith isn’t beating any of those guys, not even the weakest link, Arthur.
Callum wants to stay at light heavyweight long enough to capture a world title before moving up to cruiserweight. Given the money Smith can make fighting Beterbiev or Bivol in Saudi Arabia, it’s understandable why he should want to remain at 175 as long as possible.
The Saudis are not showing much interest in the cruiserweight division right now, apart from the fights involving IBF champion Jai Opetaia.
Smith’s once-promising career has hit a stall since his 12-round unanimous decision loss to Canelo Alvarez on December 19, 2020; going into that fight, the 6’3″ Smith was viewed as the #1 fighter in the 168-lb division. But that defeat took a lot of the air out of Smith’s career, and his only two wins since have come against these fighters: Lenin Castillo and Mathieu Bauderlique.
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