By Adam Baskin: Artur Beterbiev (17-0, 17 KOs) is the monster in his unification fight against WBO light heavyweight champion Joe Smith Jr., and he’s going to be looking to make him KO victim #18 on Saturday night at Madison Square Garden in New York.
IBF/WBC champion Beterbiev is a machine and hasn’t tasted defeat since his questionable 17-13 loss against Oleksandr Usyk in the 2012 Olympics in London.
Beterbiev got the better of Usyk, stunning him in that fight, but the judges preferred the fencing style of the future heavyweight champion over the more powerful shots from Artur, with his pro-style.
The body punching from Beterbiev could be key on Saturday, as he goes downstairs like nobody else at 175 or even at 168.
Smith hasn’t fought anyone who will relentlessly attack his body like Beterbiev. Not even Canelo Alvarez throws to the body like Beterbiev, and it’s going to be near-impossible for Smith to take those shots.
Also, Smith hasn’t yet dealt with a pressure fighter, and he’s going to find out quickly on Saturday night how difficult it is to try and keep Beterbiev off of him.
Beterbiev has knocked out everyone
“Three titles are on the line in the 175-pound division are on the line when unified champion Artur Beterbiev takes on WBO title-holder Joe Smith Jr,” said Chris Mannix on DAZN’s JABS. “It’s a huge match-up in the 175-lb division.”
“I’m the type of guy that looks at the numbers, and I go with the numbers. I’m going with the underdog, the blue-collar worker, Joe Smith Jr,” said Sergio Mora.
“I know everybody is going to look at me and frown, but I got things behind it, I got numbers behind it,” Mora continued. “If you look at the resume of Joe Smith Jr, the loss to Dmitry Bivol definitely aged well.
“The other fights against Jesse Hart, Bernard Hopkins, Maxim Vlasov, wins and losses, experience matters. He’s 32 years old, and he’s going in the right direction with a four-fight winning streak.
“Beterbiev, he’s knocked out everyone he’s fought. He’s got cinder blocks for fists, but he’s 37 years old. I just think power vs. power, youth wins. I’m going with the underdog, and I’m going with the upset Joe Smith Jr.,” said Mora.
Joe Smith Jr, a big underdog
“I’ll say this. I’m surprised at how heavy a favorite Artur Beterbiev is,” said Chris Mannix. “In Beterbiev’s last fight, he did get the knockout of Marcus Browne, but he was struggling in those early rounds, trying to figure out Browne.
“If Browne could have boxed a little more and stayed away from that pressure, he might have won that fight. The reason that I can’t pick Joe Smith and the reason I’m picking Artur Beterbiev is that I don’t think Joe Smith is a good enough boxer to stay away from Beterbiev throughout the entirety of the fight.
“I don’t think, as powerful as Smith has been at times in his career, I don’t think he’s quite powerful enough to hurt or knockout Artur Beterbiev.
“I think Beterbiev is eventually going to get to Joe Smith with that relentless pressure. We’ve seen it with Marcus Browne. We’ve seen it on a higher level with Oleksandr Gvozdyk, who Beterbiev knocked out a few fights ago to become the unified champion at 175.
“I think Joe Smith makes it difficult early, I think he lands some good shots, but Joe Smith doesn’t have that natural boxing ability. He’s unorthodox,” said Mannix.
Smith Jr has the youth advantage
“He’s not going to need it,” said Mora about Smith not needing boxing ability to defeat Beterbiev. “He’s not going to need it. These guys aren’t boxers. They’re bangers. They’re going to be two wrecking balls going into the center of the ring and crashing.
“Joe Smith Jr is slightly younger, so I believe he’s going to have a little bit more of the resistance if he does get cracked, a little bit more of the legs, in case he needs them. But they’re not boxers. They’re not going to stick & move.
“They’re going to go after each other and tear each other’s heads off. Joe Smith Jr, I think, has the heavier hands. The power is Beterbiev. It’s just raw power. He doesn’t have to hit you clean.
“Joe Smith Jr. has heavy power. There are two different types of power, and both of them are going to wreck you if they land. They don’t need to land cleanly. That’s another thing. I just like the youth, the power, and the momentum for Joe Smith Jr,” said Mora.
“Well, no one knows power like Sergio Mora,” said Mannix.
“I set myself up for that one. Bang!” said Mora.
