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It was officially announced on Tuesday that Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez will take on Callum Smith for the WBA super middleweight title on Saturday December 19, live on DAZN.
Alvarez (53-1-2 36 KOs) is back in action for the first time since knocking out Sergey Kovalev in November 2019 in Las Vegas, ripping the WBO light heavyweight title from the Russian to become a four weight champion.
“We are very happy to return to the ring and close out the year with one more victory to continue demonstrating that Canelo is the best boxer on this planet,” said Eddy Reynoso, Sport and Talent director at Canelo Promotions and Canelo’s trainer.
Canelo beat Smith’s old foe and fellow Liverpool fighter Rocky Fielding in December 2018 to win the WBA regular belt at 168 – his third divisional title – and will be gunning to follow up by capturing the full belt.
Smith (27-0 19 KOs) has landed the huge fight he has craved, and the powerful Brit will be out to cement his position as top dog at 168lbs. ‘Mundo’ landed the WBA title he puts on the line with a clinical stoppage win over fellow countryman George Groves in the seventh round of the final bout of the inaugural World Boxing Super Series in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia in September 2018.
The 30 year old has defended the titles twice since, stopping Hassan N’Dam in New York in June 2019 and then outpointing John Ryder in his Liverpool hometown five months later. Smith will also be out for family revenge when he steps through the ropes, with Canelo having beaten Smith’s brother Liam in Texas in September 2016.
“We are disciplined people who are always ready.. the only thing we want is to continue making my career and continue growing as a team. We’re ready for December 19 against Callum Smith, who is one of the best at 168-pounds …. that makes me very happy. We will be fighting against one of the best, I feel very happy about that. We want to continue advancing and continue to be the best. We didn’t want 2020 to end without a Canelo fight,” Canelo said.