Callum Smith Sets His Sights on Domestic Rivals as He Looks to Live Up the Hype

Super middleweight Callum Smith has won all 16 of his fights to date in the paid ranks, with 12 of his victories coming inside the distance.

The Liverpudlian—the youngest of four fighting brothers—was a silver medalist at the 2010 Commonwealth Games before turning pro late in 2012.

Yet while Mundo may be the baby of the bunch, he also happens to be the biggest.

At 6’3”, he has a huge frame and, judging by the number of quick finishes he has had so far in the ring, carries considerable power to go along with his size.

His promoter, Eddie Hearn, branded him “one of the hottest prospects in world boxing,” per Behind The Gloves, having seen his man win the English title inside his first year in the paid ranks.

ESPN boxing writer Dan Rafael has twice selected Smith as one of his 20 top prospects, while Ring Magazine profiled him in their July 2014 edition.

The hype surrounding him from the early days suggested he could end up being the best of the quartet of siblings, a bold statement considering Liam, Stephen and Paul have all been crowned British champions.

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The 25-year-old has not had the benefit of an easy apprenticeship either.

Hearn has not held him back—last year he threw him in against Nikola Sjekloca, a Serbian who had taken both Sakio Bika and Arthur Abraham the distance. Smith also went 12 rounds with him, yet still ran out a convincing winner on the scorecards.

Now ranked No. 3 by the WBC (h/t fightnews.com), Smith is targeting a world title shot—and he may not have to travel too far to get one.

Swede Badou Jack is the current holder of the WBC belt, with his first defence due to be against Englishman George Groves. That fight could potentially take place on the undercard to Floyd Mayweather's next—and quite possibly final—outing later this year, according to Chris McKenna of the Daily Star.

There is another option close to home. James DeGale is the new IBF champion and, like Smith, is part of Hearn’s stable of boxers.

Both domestic opponents appeal to Smith, as he explained to Matchroom Boxing:

"

There’s a lot of big fights out there for me in this division, and the biggest ones are all on my doorstep. There’s a lot of talk about IBF champion James DeGale getting a rematch with Groves next summer but hopefully I can get to Groves first and take his title if he beats Jack, and maybe me and James DeGale can fight.

Winning the World title is much more important to me than fighting Groves – but I do believe I have got the beating of him style-wise if it comes off.

"

Smith cannot contemplate the prospect of facing Groves or DeGale for too long right now, as he must first see off Christopher Rebrasse on June 26.

British fans may remember the Frenchman from his fight with Groves last year. He took Saint George all the way to the final bell, losing on points to relinquish the European title.

Rebrasse is nicknamed L’iceberg and is confident he can sink Smith’s grand plans when they meet in the ring at the Echo Arena in Liverpool.

He told Matchroom Boxing: “There is lots of hype around Callum Smith—I’m still unsure how good he is.”

The statement is fair: Smith has certainly been given a big buildup, and it remains to be seen just how far he can go.

Right now, though, it is hard not to get a little carried away with the obvious potential.