Widely regarded as the best Super Middleweight, WBA and Ring Magazine champion Callum Smith (26-0, 19 KOs), made his return to the ring and this time under the bright lights of Madison Square Garden.
The Brit would defend his title against former Middleweight champ Hassan N’Dam (37-4, 21 KOs) Smith, a native of Liverpool, made his United States debut he made a big splash.
After what started as a paced and technical opening round, neither fighter had tried anything too risky. With just over half a minute left in the round, N’Dam pressed Smith and launched back to back hooks that were parried by the champion and then followed up with a check hook of his own that landed pristinely on N’Dam’s chin and flooring him instantly.
The referee would pick up the count while N’Dam’s eyes refocused and he made every attempt to recover his legs from under him. N’Dam rose to his feet just in time and survived the round.
Round 2 started with similar results and N’Dam found himself looking up at those bright lights once more. After rising to his feet and pacing forward, N’Dam briefly recovered for the remainder of the round but Smith smelled blood.
Smith finished the job in the third round with a ferocious right hand that absolutely leveled his former sparring partner and ended the night retaining his WBA title with ease and introducing himself to the American fan base.
“It wasn’t just about beating N’Dam,” said Smith. “No disrespect to him but no one would be talking about this tomorrow if I had just won a points decision. I wanted to win and show the fans a great fight.”
Rumors have circulated of the eventual weight jump of superstar Canelo Alvarez (52-1, 35 KOs) and it’s a fight that Smith would welcome with open arms.
“Canelo is a world-class fighter, but he’s still at 160,” said Smith. “If he would decide to come up, I believe I’m the best Super Middleweight in the world.”
Most believe that Alvarez will look to close the trilogy bout with Gennady Golovkin in September but a showdown with Smith would certainly be intriguing for both men.
