There aren’t many fighters who are interested in swapping fists with David Benavidez.

Boxing is all about the warrior code but in plenty of instances, things have to make sense. In the case of Benavidez, fighting him doesn’t always provide the sort of financial incentive needed to draw in the big names. Unless, of course, you’re Callum Smith (31-2, 22 KOs).

The Liverpudlian has checked plenty of boxes in his career. He won the World Boxing Super Series, picking up The Ring and WBA super middleweight titles, and he recently took the 'interim' WBO light heavyweight belt from Joshua Buatsi.

Smith's achievements make him a proud man. He built his career on fighting the best, and at the age of 35, he isn’t interested in changing now.

As the sand in his pugilistic hourglass continues to drift away, Smith knows his career is much closer to the end than the beginning. He doesn’t mind looking in the eyes of his boxing mortality and walking through those unknown doors. What would bother him, however, is if he was to walk away from the game without fighting Benavidez.

“If I was to retire tomorrow, the one fight that I feel probably should have happened but didn’t was the Benavidez one,” Smith told Boxing Social.

Gloomy days and cloudy nights are usually what's in store for Benavidez’s opponents. During his time as a super middleweight, he was a terror, but since moving to 175 pounds he's looked even better.

With two eye-catching wins over Oleksandr Gvozdyk and David Morrell, Benavidez, who was more interested in fighting for all of the titles, was elevated from interim champion to full WBC belt holder. That extra boost in status caught the attention of Smith. But even if there isn't any hardware on the line and all Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) brings to the table is a difficult but fan-pleasing fight, Smith would be all for it.

“He’s a very good fighter,” Smith continued. “I’ve known of him for a long time. We were both world champions at the same time down at 168. I like his personality, I think he’s good for boxing and stylistically, we make a pretty good fight together.”