Callum Smith will give him another shot at world level, facing interim WBO light heavyweight champion Joshua Boissy on February 22 in Riyadh.
Is Buatsi damaged?
That’s a huge hurdle Smith has in front of him, challenging the big-hitting Buatsi (19-0, 13 KOs) for the interim belt, but he catches him at the right time. Buatsi, 31, is coming out of the war with Willie Hutchinson on September 21 and he injured him several times in that fight.
Hutchinson isn’t known for his power, but he showed what a fighter can do when he doesn’t quit and keeps landing. It also showed that Buatsi can be hurt and vulnerable if hit hard enough. Calum had much better power and was able to exploit the cracks in Buatsi’s armor that Willy had discovered.
Smith, 34, was knocked out in the seventh round earlier this year by unified heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev on January 13. Twelve-year pro Smith (30-2, 22 KOs) put effort into the game, but was outmatched by Beterbiev, who took him out with a barrage of artillery in the seventh game.
The power of Smith
Some of the short shots Smith landed on Beterbiev would have given Buatsi a lot of trouble as he swung to the fence in that fight. Arturo wasn’t hard to find with a left hook, but he worked his way through the punches to eventually knock him out.
In his last fight, on November 30, Smith defeated little-known Carlos Galvan with a confidence-building fifth-round knockout.
Former WBA middleweight champion Smith’s career has slowed since losing his title to Canelo Alvarez four years ago in a one-sided 12-round unanimous decision loss on December 19, 2020.
Smith has only fought four times since the match against Canelo, and apparently the money he received in that match allowed him to be inactive. If Smith wants to take advantage of the time left in his career, he needs to try to fight at least three times a year instead of once a year.