After squeezing his enormous 6’3” frame down to the 168-pound weight limit for nearly a decade, Callum Smith knew that his time as a super middleweight had come to an end.

In what turned out to be his last appearance in his former weight division, Smith (29-1, 21 KOs) came up woefully short against Canelo Alvarez in December of 2020. Eager to put the first defeat of his career behind him, Smith has since competed as a full-fledged light heavyweight. As for the results, so far so good as Smith has scored back-to-back devastating knockout wins. Considering the nature in which he’s taken his opponents out, Smith believes that his once respectable power at 168 pounds has taken a massive leap forward.

“I’ve always believed I’ve got the skills,” said Smith during a recent interview with Sky Sports Boxing. “If you got the skills at one weight, I believe you got the skills at another. I was good enough to become the number one at 168 and I’ve had two fights at 175 and they’ve been highlight reel knockouts. So, I certainly do think I got the power at 175.”

By and large, prior to his showdown against Alvarez, Smith was generally in the discussion as the best super middleweight in the world. If the now 32-year-old plans on jumping to the front of the light heavyweight line, a showdown against Artur Beterbiev will likely be in order.  

Currently, following Beterbiev’s jaw-dropping knockout win over Joe Smith Jr., the Russian native was initially set to defend his unified throne against WBO mandatory challenger, Anthony Yarde in October. However, due to what Marc Ramsay, Beterbiev’s trainer, describes as a “minor” knee procedure, Beterbiev's next showing could take place in November or December.  

As for Smith, his recent fourth-round steamrolling of Mathieu Bauderlique represented a WBC title eliminator. Although Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs) appears to be tied up at the moment, the lanky former 168-pound titlist will mull over his options. Ultimately, whether Smith decides to sit back, twiddle his thumbs and play the waiting game or engage in another bout to keep himself sharp, the end goal remains the same.

“I’ll sit down with me team and see what the best option is,” continued Smith. “Beterbiev’s injured and he’ll have to sit out for a little bit and obviously he’s got the WBO mandatory. Hopefully, he’ll have the WBC mandatory as well. Things get a little bit messy but I just want to keep winning and at some point, I will become a world champion.”