Liam Smith: "I've said for a long time I feel if anyone is going to beat Canelo it's going to be Callum"
Saturday 15 June 2019 21:13, UK
Callum Smith is the man to beat pound-for-pound star Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez should they share a ring, believes older brother Liam.
Canelo's team are currently pondering his next opponent for a September return after last month's middleweight unification win over Daniel Jacobs and named Smith as a potential candidate should the star move back up to 168lbs.
The Mexican become a three-weight champion in December when he relieved Rocky Fielding of his WBA 'regular' super middleweight title after dropping the Liverpudlian four times in three rounds at New York's Madison Square Garden.
'Mundo' cemented his status as the No 1 super-middleweight two weeks ago at the same venue by stopping Hassan N'Dam to defend his WBA 'super' and WBC 'Diamond' titles on the undercard of the Anthony Joshua bill.
Older brother Liam is well aware of Canelo's capabilities after losing his WBO super-welterweight title to him during a painful ninth-round stoppage in 2016.
"I've said for a long time I feel if anyone is going to beat Canelo it's going to be Callum," Liam told Sky Sports.
"It's alright getting in there with a bigger man who is clumsy or who is weary. I feel if he gets in with Callum; he's a bigger man who can box, who can fight who can defend and is not going to be in awe of him.
"I feel he stated that when he got asked after the fight about would he go to a catch-weight for Canelo, and he's like 'no, Canelo wants to fight me. Canelo mentioned my name first and if Canelo wants to fight, I can only fight him at 168.'
"I feel Callum would be bang up for that fight, like I say, Callum has got a lot of advantages in that fight. Don't get me wrong Canelo is a class fighter, but I feel if anyone is going to beat Canelo Alvarez it's Callum."
