Callum Smith Had Left Arm Targeted By Canelo From Round One
Canelo Alvarez added more titles to his collection on Saturday night, with a victory over England’s Callum Smith.
Canelo took home the WBA (Super), The Ring and vacant WBC super middleweight titles, taking his record to 54-1-2.
After the fight, Smith had swelling on his left bicep area, but it was Canelo’s plan from the beginning, according to Smith.
“It was intentional. I knew that from the first round. I said to Joe [Gallagher] in round one, ‘he’s aiming for my arm,'” Smith said.
“It kind of took away my catch left hook, which is my best shot. And whether that was a plan on their behalf, it worked a treat.”
Post-fight, Canelo admitted it was a plan going into this fight, so it would cancel out Smith’s left punches.
“It was in round 12 that I saw he was really hurt,” Canelo said.
“We knew that he has a really good left punch, so that’s what we worked on at the gym.”
Smith was honest with his comments, telling reporters even if both arms felt good, it wouldn’t have changed the outcome.
“If I would’ve had two hands the whole fight, would I have won the fight? Probably not. He was just a little bit too good for me on the night,” Smith said.
Reports claim it could be a detached bicep, which if confirmed, Smith could need surgery.
Smith’s promoter Eddie Hearn spoke about his swollen arm after the fight, to BBC Radio 5 Live.
“I think he detached his bicep in the second of third round, but it didn’t matter,” Hearn said.
“I’m proud of Callum. He never stopped throwing, but he came up against the best fighter on the planet.”
Whilst Canelo has plenty of options for fights in 2021, Smith may look to move up in weight, suggests Hearn.
Who would you like to see Callum Smith face next in 2021?
