Chris Eubank Jr believes Canelo Alvarez will have too much in his locker for WBA Super champion Callum Smith in their eagerly anticipated super-middleweight showdown at the Alamodome in San Antonio on Saturday night.
The outspoken Eubank says John Ryder exposed weaknesses in Smith’s game in a closely-fought encounter last October and that the Mexican star can, like the Islington southpaw, utilise his smaller stature but gain greater reward.
“It will be a dominant performance from Canelo,” Eubank told Sky Sports. “After watching Smith against John Ryder, that exposed a lot of weaknesses in his game.
“Canelo is a better, more advanced version of Ryder. Smith will have a lot of trouble in this fight. I don’t see him being effective. But he does have heavy hands so that would be the only way he has success – but Canelo has a good chin. Smith is a legitimate world champion so is the right fight for Canelo.”
Eubank (29-2, 22 KOs) still hopes to entice Canelo into a fight in the future, should the Mexican star return to 160lbs. As the WBA’s No.1 contender and interim champion, Eubank is in pole position, ratings wise, if WBA Super champ Canelo revisits the middleweight ranks.
“Canelo holds the full WBA middleweight title and I am the WBA interim champion and No 1 contender for his belt. He is the man that I am looking at,” said Eubank.
“I want to fight him and I’ll continue to say it until he fights me or he gives up that belt. At some point, he has to get in the ring with me or give up that belt.
“No.1 [target] is Canelo, No.2 is Gennady Golovkin and No.3 is Jermall Charlo. They all have middleweight titles. The Golovkin fight was supposed to happen years ago and I’ve always regretted that and wanted to make it right.
“Charlo is also an interesting fight, which fans would want to see. I’m gunning for anyone with a world title.”