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| Date | 16 September 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Venue | Echo Arena, Liverpool, United Kingdom | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tale of the tape | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Result | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Smith defeated Skoglund via Unanimous Decision (116–112, 117–110, 117–111) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Callum Smith vs. Erik Skoglund was a professional boxing match contested on 16 September 2017. [1]
After WBC champion Badou Jack moved up to light-heavyweight, number one contender Callum Smith and number two ranked Anthony Dirrell were ordered to face each for the vacant belt. [2] However after disagreements over the location [3] and Dirrell's refusal to enter the upcoming World Boxing Super Series, [4] so the fight could take place in the quarter-finals, the fight was cancelled and the WBC allowed Dirrell and David Benavidez to the fight for the vacant title. [5] [6]
At the WBSS draft Gala, held at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco, Smith, who was second-seeded, chose to fight the unbeaten Swedish contender Erik Skoglund, who had been fighting light-heavyweight. Smith explained why he chose Skoglund, saying he felt Skoglund was 'stylistically the best fight' for him. [7] [8] On 19 July, Smith confirmed the fight would take place at the Echo Arena in Liverpool on 16 September 2017. It would also be the first fight of the series. Smith also admitted, on paper, Skoglund is the best boxer he would fight. Skoglund, who had previously fought in Sweden, Finland, Denmark and Germany, said he had no issues with traveling to England, as he was looking to prove himself.
Skoglund came out fighting and blooded Smith's nose in the fifth round. Smith would take control in the latter rounds, dropping the swede in the 11th round after a barrage of big shots. The fight would go the full 12 rounds and Smith won a clear unanimous decision with scores of 116–112, 117–110 & 117–111. [9]
Smith moved in the WBSS semi final to face the winner of the Jürgen Brähmer vs. Robert Brant bout on 27 October 2017.
The next quarter final was held three weeks later between Chris Eubank Jr and Avni Yildirim.
Skoglund was set to face Rocky Fielding on the undercard of Tony Bellew vs. David Haye II but an injury to Haye got the bout be pushed back. On 8 December 2017, he suffered a brain hemorrhage during a sparring session in his hometown, Nyköping. He was put into a medically induced coma and had surgery. [10] [11] Skoglund was awakened from the coma in January 2018 and was seen responsive and walking with the help of a crutch.
Confirmed bouts: [12]
| Country | Broadcaster |
|---|---|
| Baltic & Nordic countries | Viasat [13] |
 Belgium | VOO [14] |
 Bulgaria | Nova |
 Canada | Super Channel |
 Germany | SAT.1 |
 Russia | Match! Boets [15] |
 Singapore | StarHub |
| Sub-Saharan Africa | TVMS |
 Turkey | Tivibu Sports [16] |
 United Kingdom | ITV |
 Ukraine | Inter |
Avetik Abrahamyan, best known as Arthur Abraham, is an Armenian-German former professional boxer who competed from 2003 to 2018. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the IBF middleweight title from 2005 to 2009, and the WBO super-middleweight title twice between 2012 and 2016.
Anthony Dirrell is an American professional boxer. He was a two-time WBC super middleweight champion, having held the title in 2019 and previously from 2014 to 2015. He is the younger brother of 2004 Olympic bronze medalist Andre Dirrell, who is also a professional boxer.
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Anthony Lewis Bellew is an English former professional boxer who competed from 2007 to 2018, and has since worked as a boxing analyst and commentator. He held the WBC cruiserweight title from 2016 to 2017. At regional level, he held the British and Commonwealth light-heavyweight titles between 2010 and 2014, the European cruiserweight title from 2015 to 2016. As an amateur, he is a three-time ABA heavyweight champion. He portrayed antagonist boxer Ricky Conlan in the films Creed and Creed III.
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Christopher Livingstone Eubank Jr. is a British professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) interim middleweight title twice between 2015 and 2021. He also held the International Boxing Organization (IBO) super-middleweight title twice between 2017 and 2019. At regional level, he held the British middleweight title in 2016. He is the son of former two-division world champion boxer, Chris Eubank.
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Callum John Smith is an English professional boxer. He held the World Boxing Association (WBA) and Ring magazine super-middleweight titles from 2018 to 2020. At regional level, he held the British and European super-middleweight titles between 2015 and 2017. In 2018 he won the World Boxing Super Series super-middleweight tournament, winning the Muhammad Ali trophy in the process. He is the youngest of the Smith brothers—Paul, Stephen, and Liam—all of whom are professional boxers.
Mairis Briedis is a Latvian professional boxer. He is a three-time cruiserweight world champion, having held the IBF and Ring titles from 2020 to 2022; the WBC title from 2017 to 2018; and the WBO title in 2019. Upon winning the WBC title in 2017, he became the first Latvian to hold a world boxing title. He was awarded the Order of the Three Stars in 2017. As a professional, he has fought world champions Oleksander Usyk, Marco Huck, Krzysztof Głowacki, Manuel Charr, and Yuniel Dorticos. As of November 2022, he is ranked as the world's third best active cruiserweight by The Ring magazine, BoxRec, and second by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.
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Erik Skoglund is a Swedish professional boxer. He held the European Union light-heavyweight title between 2013 and 2014, successfully defending it three times before vacating it. In 2017, Skoglund participated in the World Boxing Super Series, losing to Callum Smith in the super-middleweight quarter-finals.
Murat Georgievich Gassiev is a Russian former unified cruiserweight world champion, having held the IBF title from 2016 to 2018, and the WBA (Unified) title in 2018. As of October 2021, he is ranked as the world's ninth-best active heavyweight by BoxRec.
Avni Yıldırım is a Turkish professional boxer. He challenged for the IBO super-middleweight title in 2017, the WBC super-middleweight title in 2019, and the WBA (Super), WBC, and Ring magazine super-middleweight titles in 2021.
The World Boxing Super Series (WBSS) is a professional boxing tournament organised by Comosa AG.
The 2017–18 World Boxing Super Series – super middleweight division was a World Boxing Super Series professional boxing tournament taking place between September 2017 and September 2018 in several countries. The Super Series features 8 top-rated super middleweight boxers in a single-elimination tournament. Its winner will hold the WBA's world title, The Ring Magazine title, as well as the Muhammad Ali trophy. The tournament was organized by Comosa AG. A cruiserweight tournament is held concurrently, with prize money for both competitions totalling US$50 million.
Anthony David Benavidez is an American professional boxer. He is a three-time WBC super middleweight champion, having held the title from 2017 to 2018 and again from 2019 to 2020. Claiming his first belt at 20 years, eight months, three weeks and one day old, Benavidez holds the record as the youngest super middleweight title holder in history. He is ranked second by The Ring, second by the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, and fourth by BoxRec.
Chris Eubank Jr vs. Avni Yildirim was a professional boxing match contested on 7 October 2017, for the IBO super middleweight championship. The bout was also a WBC super middleweight title eliminator.
George Groves vs. Jamie Cox was a professional boxing match contested on 14 October 2017, for the WBA super middleweight championship.
