By Matt Lieberman: Canelo Alvarez has the chance to become the undisputed champion at 175 in less than one year by taking on the winner of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Joe Smith Jr. fight on June 18th.
It was revealed last Friday that IBF/WBC light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (17-0, 17 KOs) will be taking on WBO champion Smith (28-3, 22 KOs) on June 18th in New York.
The winner of the fight will hold three of the four titles, and will only need the WBA strap that Dmitry Bivol currently holds to become the undisputed champion.
Canelo’s immediate plans are to challenge Dmitry Bivol for his WBA light heavyweight title on May 7th, and then face Gennadiy Golovkin on September 17th if he’s victorious in his unification fight against Ryota Murata on April 9th.
It’s not beyond the realms of possibility that the 40-year-old Golovkin (41-1-1, 36 KOs) could lose to Murata, which would open the door to Canelo fighting the Beterbiev-Smith winner in September on the Mexican holiday.
If Canelo does go ahead with the Golovkin trilogy on September 17th, the Mexican star still has the third fight this year in December to face the winner of the Beterbiev vs. Smith Jr. unification match.
“On paper, you have to say that Beterbiev will pull it off,” said Anthony Yarde to Boxing King Media in picking Artur Beterbiev to defeat Joe Smith Jr.
“From what I’ve seen of his performances, he’s a very good fighter. Russians are very tough,” Yarde said of Beterbiev. “Hopefully, all the politics that are going on around the world don’t ruin boxing.”
The power, chin, toughness, and Olympic pedigree of Beterbiev give him a big edge against Smith Jr.
We’ve seen Beterbiev walk through fire in his fights against Marcus Browne and Oleksandr Gvozdyk to score knockouts.
It’s difficult to imagine Smith Jr being able to endure the kind of shots that Beterbiev landed on those fighters without succumbing to his power.
Canelo wants Beterbiev fight
“Beterbiev because he’s a champion, he has more to offer me, and he’s strong. It’s a lot of things,” said Canelo Alvarez to K.O Artists Sports when asked who has more to offer him between Beterbiev and David Benavidez.
“It’s not crazy. I like the idea,” said Canelo when asked if it’s a ‘crazy idea’ for him to face Beterbiev for his IBF/WBC 175lb titles. “I love challenges.”
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