Callum Smith will give it another shot at world level when he faces WBO interim light heavyweight champion Joshua Buatsi on February 22 in Riyadh.

Buatsi is damaged?

It's a formidable obstacle ahead of Smith, challenging big puncher Buatsy (19-0, 13 KOs) for his interim strap, but he's catching him at the right time. Buatsi, 31, is coming off a battle with Willie Hutchinson on September 21, and in that fight he struck her several times.

Hutchinson isn't known for his strength, but he showed what a fighter can do when they don't quit and land. He also showed that Buatsi can become traumatized and weak if hit hard enough. Calum had much better abilities and could take advantage of the cracks in Buatsi's armor that Willy revealed.

Smith, 34, earlier this year was knocked out in the seventh round by unified heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev on Jan. 13. 12-year pro Smith (30-2, 22 KOs) attempted a game but was overwhelmed by Beterbiev, who took him out with an artillery barrage in the seventh.

Smith's power

The short shots that Smith gave Beterbiev would give Buatsy huge problems as he was swinging for the fences in that fight. Arter wasn't hard to find with his left hook, but he walked through the shots to knock him down in the end.

In his last fight, on November 30, Smith defeated little-known Carlos Galvan by fifth-round knockout, a confidence-builder.

Former WBA super middleweight champion Smith's career has slowed since losing the title four years ago to Canelo Alvarez on Dec. 19, 2020, via a one-sided 12-round unanimous decision.

Smith has only fought four times since the match against Canelo and apparently, the money he received in that match has allowed him to remain inactive. If Smith is going to take advantage of the time he has left in his career, he needs to try and fight at least three times a year on an annual basis.