SAN ANTONIO – Callum Smith simply would’ve said no if he didn’t think slightly more than four weeks was enough notice to prepare specifically for the toughest fight of his career.

When that call came from promoter Eddie Hearn, however, the WBA “super” 168-pound champion felt confident in his ability to feel mentally and physically ready when he enters the ring Saturday night to battle Canelo Alvarez at Alamodome. Part of Smith wonders whether Alvarez anticipates facing a lesser version of him in their 12-round title bout because their fight was put together on such short notice.

Smith’s favored opponent will be surprised, the Liverpool native predicted, if he expects anything less than the best of him in a fight that’ll be offered on DAZN ($19.99 monthly; $99.99 annually) and pay-per-view ($69.99).

“It’s either they believe in their own ability and want to fight the best and want to take on the biggest challenge possible,” Smith told BoxingScene.com. “Or maybe they think they’re catching me on short notice and maybe reading into me last performance and maybe think the weight’s hurting me. I don’t know. Listen, only they know that. All I know is I feel a hundred percent, I feel really good, and I believe the best version of me steps through them ropes this weekend. And if that’s the case, then I believe I’ll win.”

The 30-year-old Smith struggled in his last fight – a 12-round, unanimous-decision victory over British southpaw John Ryder in November 2019. Though he hasn’t fought in over a year, Smith remained in the gym, even during this pandemic, and didn’t allow himself to get out of shape.

Smith planned to box before the end of this year, thus he was already training when his showdown with Alvarez was proposed to him.

“I was in the gym, training,” Smith said. “I wasn’t just out partying. I was in training. I wasn’t training specifically for Canelo Alvarez, but I was in the gym, training, trying to improve little parts of me game. And then the phone call came four weeks [out]. If I wasn’t in a position where I thought I’d be ready, I’d have passed on the fight. I’d have said, ‘Listen, we’ll try and get it next year, with crowds or whatever. As long as I’ve got my belt, I’m in a position to land a big fight.’ So, I assessed it. I said, ‘You know what? Four weeks, I’m in pretty good shape now. In four weeks, I’ll be a hundred percent.’ And that’s how I feel.”

Smith’s handlers negotiated with Alvarez’s representatives earlier this year, but Alvarez eventually opted to battle Billy Joe Saunders (30-0, 14 KOs). Their 12-round fight for Saunders’ WBO super middleweight title tentatively was set for May 2 in Las Vegas, but it was scrapped due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Saunders said recently he was never approached about putting his fight against Alvarez back together once the Mexican superstar settled his contract disputes with DAZN and Golden Boy Promotions early in November. Smith made sure to pounce on this high-profile opportunity once it was presented again.

“I’ve wanted this fight for a long time,” Smith said. “I’ve had a couple of fights since I’ve become a world champion, but theyain’t the fights that I’ve wanted. I want to fight the big names – whether it wasCanelo, whether it was one of the other champions, [David]Benavidez, [Caleb] Plant, at the time. I just wanted a test and the minute it come, I was taking it. If I didn’t take this fight, who knows when I’d get another opportunity to fight one of the big names? I stayed in the gym this year, throughout the pandemic, training, hoping that a big fight could be made, and it has.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.