There was plenty of whinging and insinuations from fighters after the fact, but those cannot be taken seriously. I mean the same people moaning won't say anything about Conor Benn failing multiple tests (Artur Beterbiev did not fail a test) nor will say mention 39 year old Natasha Jonas arguably producing her best career performances as she has aged.
With that in mind it just comes across being really bitter about a fighter who has beaten all 20 opponents inside the distance and especially as so many saw some signs of decline in his win over Anthony Yarde.
The reality is that Callum Smith is not as good as they thought.
We have also had news of the next big crossover fight in Saudi Arabia when Anthony Joshua faces Francis Ngannou, although the latter may have shown off enough Boxing ability in his loss to Tyson Fury to make that interesting. That is set for March 8th, but it is the chief support bout between Zhilei Zhang vs Joseph Parker after both beat a couple of big name Heavyweights in 2023.
The winner of that one will certainly lead the line for any vacant World Title fight that comes up after the Undisputed Fight in February, which is expected to lead to a fracturing of the four Belts soon after.
An introduction to a new Undisputed Belt that will be given to the winner feels like an open move from the Saudi Arabian authorities to take over the sport as they mentioned it can be defended even when all other Belts have had to be given away.
I have a strong feeling that it will be a Belt that will always have to be defended in Saudi Arabia and soon may be the one that most fans focus on when it comes to determining the best fighter in a weight class.
And once you have that, you have a grip of the sport.
It may be a personal opinion, but after seeing what happened in Golf, it is a genuine way the control of the sport can be shifted to Saudi Arabia. The suggestion is that the Dmitry Bivol vs Artur Beterbiev Undisputed Light Heavyweight bout will also be held in Saudi Arabia in June and if there is another new Belt given to that Winner, then you can see the plan formulating to control the biggest events and keep them within the country.
The positive for fans is that the big fights are being made, although the atmosphere at these events have been really below par.
Next step is to get more fans travelling to the events, but that still feels a little bit away and conditioning fans, journalists and broadcasters to accept the biggest fights will be in Saudi Arabia looks the first port of call. We are already someway down that path, and plenty more big events are lined up.
This weekend the big cards are in the United Kingdom and United States- the main focus is the bout that could provide Canelo Alvarez with his next challenger. There are just three weeks to go before the Undisputed Heavyweight Fight, but a couple of solid events to come before that and we should soon be given some official announcements for events to take place in the first half of the Boxing season.
Jaime Munguia vs John Ryder
There was plenty of controversy attached to John Ryder's loss to Callum Smith in 2019 and the Londoner will feel that he should have been a World Champion.
He followed up with four solid wins, including against Daniel Jacobs and Zach Parker, and that gave John Ryder an opportunity to take on Canelo Alvarez.
A Points Decision defeat will not have whet too many appetites for any rematch, although Ryder came out of the bout with credit having got up from a Fifth Round Knock Down. The Gorilla has been given another chance to impress when travelling to Phoenix, but John Ryder knows that his time at the top may be over if he is not able to win this bout.
The favourite is unbeaten Jaime Munguia, a fighter who has had forty-two wins on the record, but who has not been pushed as far forward in his career as many would have hoped. The wins are against opponents who will not really leap off the resume, but Munguia did earn a win over Sergey Derevyanchenko in his one outing in 2023 and that is a solid win over a veteran.
A Twelfth Round Knock Down proved to be the key for Jaime Munguia and this has the hallmarks of being a very entertaining fight. The Mexican throws a lot of leather, but John Ryder is not known for taking a backward step and it would be a massive surprise if this one does not catch fire.
You have to give Jaime Munguia the edge when it comes to output, even if the fighter still looks flawed deep into his career. The problem here is that John Ryder may not have the pop to really give Munguia a reason to stop coming forward and he took plenty of shots against Canelo Alvarez, which may have taken something away from the British fighter.
He will leave it all on the line and that should mean we get plenty of action, but Jaime Munguia should still be the fresher fighter.
John Ryder has shown he is a warrior with some top performances, but it did feel like Canelo was breaking him down.
Someone like Jaime Munguia might be much rawer than Canelo, but he is a bigger fighter and may punch that little bit harder. This is an opportunity for the Mexican to show he deserves a shot at his compatriot next, but the backing wil come if he can go a little better than Canelo.
It was a dominant win on the cards for Canelo Alvarez and Jaime Munguia is unlikely to replicate that with his style- however, Stopping Ryder will be making a big noise in the sport and he certainly has the volume and intensity to force a referee to jump in.
John Ryder himself won't want to go anywhere, but it felt Canelo Alvarez was a couple of punches away from closing the show. With a bigger man in front of him this time, Ryder may just be struggling to keep Munguia contained down the stretch.
Earlier in the night, DAZN will be broadcasting a card from Belfast which will feature some up and coming fighters.
Paddy Donovan has impressed early in his career and he will be facing a veteran from Argentina who has yet to be Stopped. However, Donovan has shown he carries power and he may be able to get the job done in the second half of the fight.
The same can be said for Cheavon Clarke against Tommy McCarthy, who has been beaten by Stoppage twice in his last four fights. Both have been in the second half of those contests against Chris Billam-Smith and Michal Cieslak, the latter just a couple of months ago, and Cheavon Clarke has shown he carries power late into a fight.
He is a big Welterweight and so it is perhaps not a surprise that Lewis Crocker has missed his mark and unable to win a vacant Title this weekend. Size should be a factor when he takes on Jose Felix, who upset Gary Cully in May 2023, but who is also moving up a couple of Divisions and who has not operated in this weight class before.
This looks to be another bout that could end in the second half of the contest as Crocker looks to at least make a statement even after missing the chance to win a Title.
MY PICKS: Jaime Munguia to Win Between 7-12 @ 6.50 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Paddy Donovan to Win Between 6-10 @ 3.50 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Cheavon Clarke to Win Between 6-10 @ 2.87 Coral (1 Unit)
Lewis Crocker to Win Between 6-10 @ 3.25 Sky Bet (1 Unit)
Boxing 2024: 2-2, + 1.06 Units (7 Units Staked, + 15.14% Yield)
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