Smith vs. Groves | #TeamMorson Callum Smith Prepares To Make Boxing History
Callum Smith prepares to make history as fight week finally arrives!
It’s been seven months since Callum Smith and George Groves won their respective semi-finals and after having the fight rescheduled multiple times, the winner of the World Boxing Super Series will finally be decided this Friday. Team Morson caught up with Smith and Joe Gallagher in an exclusive interview the day before they headed to Jeddah last Wednesday.
This will be Callum Smith’s first world title match but having watched his brothers fight some of the pound for pound best, Joe Gallagher believes the Morson fighter is more than ready for the occasion:
“He’s been around the big fights for years, he’s used to it. Callum’s been in his brother’s ring walks, he’s done this so many times as a trial run. I expect Callum to walk to that ring on Friday night with a big smile on his face, taking it all in and enjoying the occasion”
Visualisation is a key to victory for many athletes and the youngest of the Smith brothers has envisioned how his fight against Groves is going to finish in his favour multiple times throughout camp:
“When you go for a run your mind drifts, you envision the fight and I always envision myself winning and becoming a world champion. It’s not just for this fight, every fight I’ve had ever since I was a kid I envisioned being a world champion”
With training camp now finished, Callum is confident that himself and Gallagher have come up with a game plan to defeat the tricky WBA Super-Middleweight Champion:
“We’ve worked on certain shots with Joe that we believe will come off in the fight and shots that we need to avoid from Groves. Week in week out it becomes a bit more natural and I’m confident we’ve got it. Everything’s clicked, and I’ve peaked at the right time”
Switching off from training and the pressures of fight week is important for anyone competing in a combat sport at an elite level, Joe Gallagher discussed why he treats fighters on a case by case basis in terms of balancing their training and rest time:
“Each to their own. In Callum’s case, I’ll leave the changing room and when I see him in the ring I see a completely different person. I’ve learnt to deal with it that the kid that was laid back in the changing room is a fiery prickly character when in the ring. It’s good to switch on and off”
Anthony Crolla and Liam Smith have also travelled to Saudi Arabia to support Callum and the Ali Trophy finalist described what the brotherhood amongst the fighters at Gallagher gym is like heading into a huge occasion such as this:
“Having them around on fight week, they’ve been there so they understand the situation mentally. They’ll know when to sit and talk to me and when to leave me alone. Having people around that understand is important, sometimes I’ll go to my mums and she might offer me food when I’m making weight, unaware of the calories”
This weekend marks the beginning of a busy run of shows for Joe Gallagher as the team will travel back to the UK immediately in order to corner Sam Hyde on Kieran Farrell Promotions’ show at the Macron Stadium in Bolton which is also proudly sponsored by Morson:
“The main thing is to get back home. Callum will be back around 1 o’clock on the Saturday and will spend time with his friends and family, I’ve got Sam Hyde fighting at the Macron Stadium. It’s an important fight as he didn’t get off to a good start last season due to a knee injury, so he’s got to impress”
All the preparation is done, Callum and Joe have worked incredibly hard this summer and will hopefully bring the Ali Trophy and the WBA title home. Everyone at Morson will be supporting Callum this Friday and we wish him the best of luck!