Eddie Hearn Sounds Unsure on Callum Smith Taking Benavidez Fight

Promoter Eddie Hearn says Callum Smith still must decide whether to take the fight with WBC light heavyweight champion David Benavidez or defend his WBO interim belt next.

Hearn states that Smith (31-2, 22 KOs) wants to become a two-division world champion, but he’s got “no easy touches” between taking on IBF, WBA, and WBO champion Dmitry Bivol or Benavidez.

Benavidez or Bivol?

The way Hearn is talking, he sounds unsure if Smith will take the fight with Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs). That makes sense. It would likely be a smaller payday for Callum, and his chances of winning would be less than if he fought Bivol. We’ve already seen how good Benavidez is with fighting big punchers before, with his two recent wins over David Morrell and Oleksandr Gvozdyk.

Bivol: Vulnerable to Pressure

In contrast, Bivol, 34, showed vulnerability to pressure in his two fights against Artur Beterbiev. Although he won the rematch with Beterbiev last February, he looked like he was crumbling in the early and late rounds when he was being put under nonstop pressure.

Smith would do the same with Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs), but he wouldn’t let off the way Beterbiev did in the second half. He would continue pressuring Dmitry hard, wearing him down with hard punches. If you’re Smith, that would be the better direction to go. Fighting Benavidez would be a bad idea.

“I think there’s potential for that fight. Callum has got to weigh up now, defending that interim [WBO light heavyweight] world title or fighting David Benavidez,” said Eddie Hearn to Boxing News when asked about a potential fight between Callum Smith and David Benavidez.

That’s a tough decision, Smith has. He’s got the fight with Benavidez and the nice payday there if he wants, but his chances of winning wouldn’t be good. Unless the money is out of this world, he should wait for the winner of the Bivol vs. Beterbiev III trilogy.

Smith: Two-Division Champion Goal

“The key for Callum is to become a two-division world champion. It’s a very difficult job because you’ve got David Benavidez and Dmitry Bivol. There’s no easy touches, and he knows that. He had a great fight with Buatsi last time out, and he’ll make a decision over the next couple of weeks,” said Hearn.