Unbeaten Liverpool Super-Middleweight, Callum Smith improved his record to 17-0 with an impressive unanimous decision victory over France’s Christophe Rebrasse at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on Friday night.
‘Mundo’ was made to work hard for the decision against the durable Frenchman but almost ended it in style when he floored Rebrasse with a crunching body shot in the tenth round.
The win meant Smith maintained his number three ranking in the WBC, the route he is taking to try and win the world title, and after arguably the biggest win of his career, many are now wondering what Smith’s next step will be in his path to the top.
Smith is one of five or potentially six (should Carl Froch not retire) big domestic names alongside IBF World Champion, James DeGale, WBC Mandatory challenger George Groves, Rocky Fielding and Martin Murray, in the world level mix in the division, meaning there are lot of huge fights for him down the line.
If his next fight was to be against any of those names, it could be against fellow scouser, Rocky Fielding, who destroyed former Andy Lee conqueror, Brian Vera in two rounds on Friday. Both men are unbeaten, both men boast terrific knockout power on their day, both are well on their way towards gaining a shot at a world title and both men are from the same city. The fight makes sense, and would generate huge figures in Liverpool, with the winner going on to challenge for a world title.
Nonetheless, there is no rush for the fight and with both men highly rated in different bodies it would be a risk for both men to be put in the ring with each other. With Smith rated at number three in the WBC it will not be long, as long as he keeps winning, until he becomes the mandatory challenger for that belt. Similarly, Fielding is currently ranked 6th in the IBF with only, Gilberto Ramirez, Rogello Medina and Julius Jackson ranked between him and champion, James Degale, and he may not want to risk losing an opportunity to fight for that belt at some point down the line. With Eddie Hearn promoting DeGale as well, Fielding may harbour ambitions at getting a voluntary shot at ‘Chunky’ at some point in the next twelve months.
Smith also has the possibility of a huge British clash for a world title against George Groves in the next twelve months, should Groves beat champion Badou Jack in the summer. However, as Smith himself readily admits the chances of a champion giving a dangerous fighter like him a voluntary shot at a title are very slim, and he will probably have to force himself into a mandatory position in order to challenge for the WBC title.
Therefore, Smith’s next move will probably be a final eliminator for the mandatory position in the WBC. Mexico’s Gilberto Ramirez is currently the only fighter above Smith in the rankings, apart from Jack and Groves and an eliminator bout between the two unbeaten fighters could be a possibility. However, with Ramirez highly ranked in all four governing bodies, he may favour a different route, which may be less tricky than a fight against Smith.
Should that be the case a fight against other highly ranked fighters within the WBC, such as Anthony Dirrell, Julio Cesar Chavez Jr, or Lucian Bute could be arranged for a final eliminator before Smith fights for a world title in 2016.
No matter who Smith fights next it should represent the toughest examination of his credentials to date, but one thing is for sure; it’s going to be a thrilling ride watching one of Britain’s most exciting talents plotting his path to the top.
- Sean McCormick
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