Callum Smith vs John Ryder Preview Nov. 23rd
Un
beaten WBA Super World, and WBC Diamond Super Middleweight Champion Callum Smith of Liverpool England will defend his titles for the second time when he meets John Ryder of London in Liverpool this Saturday, November 23rd. Smith last fought in June when he stopped Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam in the third round. Ryder last fought in May when he stopped Bilal Akkawy in the third round for the interim WBA World Super Middleweight Title. The 12-round bout can be seen live in North America on DAZN and on Sky Sports Action in the UK. Smith won his belts by stopping George Groves in the seventh round of the World Boxing Super Series Final in September 2018.
**Watch live on DAZN this Saturday. Your first month is free.
Smith vs Ryder Betting Odds
Here are the betting odds from online sportsbook BetOnline.ag (full review here).
- John Ryder +900
- Callum Smith -1750
My Pick
The 29-year-old Smith has a perfect record of 26-0 with 19 Kos. He’s 6-feet-3-inches tall with a 78-inch reach so is pretty big for the 168 lb division and will have a six-inch height and six-inch reach advantage on Ryder. Smith enjoyed a fine amateur career and was once the British Super Welterweight Champion as an amateur. Since turning pro in 2012 he’s fought 122 rounds but other than Groves he hasn’t really taken on anybody who resembles a Grade A boxer and Ryder also falls short of that category.
Smith has also beaten the likes of Nieky Holzken, Erik Skoglund, Luke Blackledge, Norbert Nemesapati, Cesar Hernan Reynoso, Rocky Fielding and Christopher Rebrasse etc. He’s displayed pretty good power up to now with a current knockout ratio of 73.1 per cent but his lack of quality opponents may slightly hurt his chances against upper echelon opponents in the future. He’s got size on his side though and if he uses it to his advantage he’ll definitely have the edge. Smith has also been an English, British, European, WBC International and WBC Silver Champion since turning pro.
The 31-year-old Ryder will enter the ring with a record of 28-4 with 16 Kos. He lost a split decision to Rocky Fielding for the vacant British Super Middleweight Title in 2017 and dropped a unanimous decision to Jack Arnfield for the WBA International Middleweight Crown a year earlier. His only stoppage defeat came to Nick Blackwell in 2015 when he was halted in the seventh round for the vacant British Middleweight Belt. His other loss was also for the British Middleweight Title and the Commonwealth Championship when he dropped a close unanimous decision to Billie Joe Saunders in 2013.
The southpaw Ryder did manage to win the vacant WBO Inter-Continental Middleweight Title in 2014 when he stopped Theophilus Tetteh in the fifth round. He also won the vacant WBA International Middleweight Belt in 2016 with a unanimous decision over Siarhei Khamitski in 2016. He then won the vacant IBF International Super Middleweight Title with a unanimous decision over Adam Etches in 2017. He’s also stopped Patrick Nielsen, Jamie Cox and Andrey Sirotkin and has won four fights in a row, all by stoppage.
Ryder, who also had a fine amateur career and won a couple of regional titles is just 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 67-inch. He’s boxed 190 rounds since making his pro debut in 2010 and possesses average power with a current knockout ratio of 50 per cent. Ryder has been quite competitive in every fight when moving up in class but he just doesn’t have the size to get over the hump in the super middleweight division and will give up a lot of size against Smith.
Prediction…
Ryder is a quality boxer with good speed and power. He’s somewhat underrated but isn’t an elite boxer at world level as he’s enjoyed most of his success in Britain and Europe. Smith can’t afford to take him lightly but with Smith’s six-inch height and reach advantage as well as his power I’m expecting him to hold onto his belt on Saturday.
Smith’s too big and powerful.
Play: Smith -1750 @ BetOnline.ag
Check out my recent boxing betting picks to see my current form.
Callum Smith betting • John Ryder betting