WBA Super Middleweight champion Callum Smith will be fighting against the interim champion John Ryder on Saturday night.

The fight will be held at the M&S Bank Arena and with the home crowd on Smith’s side, it is difficult to see the scouser falling to defeat.

Although Ryder holds some credible wins on his record, he is not on the same level of elite fighters such as Smith, Canelo, and Golovkin.

However, this homecoming fight will be a great welcome back since becoming World Champion.

Although it is expected for Smith to beat Ryder convincingly, this potential banana skin fight should not be overlooked, as potential future opponents look on.

Talks have already begun over the possibility of Smith fighting Canelo, who is now also fighting in the Super Middleweight division and Eddie Hearn has stated that he would like Smith to fight at Anfield in his next two fights.

Bringing Canelo to Liverpool would be a huge advantage in Smith’s favour, and with his boxing brain and power, anything could be possible on that night.

His opponent, Ryder, has had some good form as of late, after stopping his last four opponents, with his last fight being stopped.

His previous bout was held in Las Vegas, which proves that Ryder does not fear fighting away from home and will step up when he needs to.

However, Smith’s form has also been spectacular, after stopping George Groves in Saudi Arabia via KO, he went on to stop Hassan N’Dam at the Madison Square Garden.

In the build-up to fight week, the Liverpool fighter has come out to say that he believes “at my best, no one can beat me.”

It is clear to see that both fighters are going into the fight believing they can win.

For Ryder, a win would mean being catapulted onto the world scene. Although a rematch would be on the cards, Ryder could avoid that fight to take on Canelo for a much higher payday in the states, or instead, fight other British credible names such as Eubank JR, or Groves.

A win for Smith would mean he would continue moving forward, potentially fighting pound for pound number one Canelo Alvarez, Gennady Golovkin, or Kovalev.

Nonetheless, this matchup will be very interesting with ring walks expecting to start at 10pm.

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