Callum Smith has hit back at claims he’s been given an 'easy touch' in his final WBC light-heavyweight title eliminator.
Smith is set to face Mathieu Bauderlique in Saudi Arabia as part of the undercard to Anthony Joshua vs Oleksandr Usyk 2 at the King Abdullah Sports City Arena next weekend.
The former Archbishop Beck student was last in action on the undercard of the first meeting between the two heavyweights at the home of Tottenham Hotspur in September, destroying Lenin Castillo with a brutal second round KO.
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The victory saw 'Mundo' return to winning ways after he suffered his first, and only, career defeat to Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez at San Antonio’s Alamodome back in December 2020.
Now campaigning at light-heavyweight, where he is ranked as the No.1 contender, Smith will face Bauderlique. The southpaw is France’s reigning European Champion, and ranked No.2 by the WBC, and last stepped through the ropes in September when he retired Igor Mikhalkin in seven rounds to land the vacant EBU crown.
"[People] kind of assume I've been given an easy touch in a final eliminator but he's a good fighter, he's European champion," Smith responded when asked about Bauderlique.
"He went to the Rio Olympics. He got the other bronze [medal]. He's got good skills, he's got good amateur pedigree, he's got good boxing ability. A little bit heavy handed when he lets them go. It's a tough fight. It's got my respect, it's one I'm taking seriously.
"He can handle himself, he's a good fighter and it's a big opportunity for himself. It's probably his biggest fight and there's a lot at stake for him. If I'm at my best I can beat anyone in the world at this weight and that includes Bauderlique."
The last time Smith fought on a Joshua vs Usyk undercard he could not celebrate his emphatic victory as his stunning right-hand resulted in Castillo needing to be treated by paramedics before he was stretchered out of the ring.
"As much as you want to win, that's the last thing you want to see. Now and again we do get a bad one in boxing where there's long lasting damage, no one wants to see that," Smith recalled on the fight to Sky Sports.
"Forget about the win and everything else, that becomes irrelevant, you just want the fighter to be safe and go home to his family. The next morning I had a message off Castillo [that he was alright], so that was good and reassuring.
"I say a prayer in the ring before a fight and it's not to win, it's just for myself and my opponent's safety. Boxing's a tough sport as it is and we've all got families to go home to."
But Smith does believe that his emphatic victory over Castillo enabled him to answer a lot of questions that had been thrown his way in the build-up to the bout.
He said: "There were a lot of question marks surrounding me on certain things. How will I fare at the new weight? How will I be coming back from a loss? How will I be under Buddy [McGirt]? I felt I ticked them all.
"I knew it was potentially a tricky fight. He'd never been stopped. But I felt really, really good at the weight, I felt really strong and landing early on it was having an effect on him and obviously landed a good shot which finished the fight."
Now 32, 'Mundo' will be looking to make himself mandatory to 175-lb champion Artur Beterbiev with a victory over Bauderlique.
"When everything gets tough you just need that reason why and as long as you've got it, you'll push through," Smith continued when asked about his upcoming bout.
"You don't have to love it. You've just got to crave the results so bad that the rest of it's irrelevant. I've always been goal driven and motivated by achievements and the goal of becoming a two-weight world champion is what gets me through.
"I've always felt that I want to be a world champion so bad that I'd chase it and I'd go through anything to get there. As long as you want it bad enough, I think the rest of it is irrelevant, you'll do whatever needs to be done to get it done.
"I know what I'm capable of, I know my goals and I know what I can do. I know I can become a two-weight world champion and that thought of achieving is what drives me and I keep chasing and I do believe I will get it.
"You've got to have something for when things do get tough. And I've still got it."
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