An angry-looking unified light heavyweight champion, Artur Beterbiev, weighed in at 175 lbs, while his opponent, Callum Smith, came in at 174.6 lbs at Friday’s weigh-in for their bout this Saturday, January 13, 2024, on ESPN at the Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Canada.
Beterbiev had a menacing look on his face while staring down Smith, and there was no mistaking his intent when he turned and stared down the media.
He looked angry, possibly due to the way that his name was dragged through the mud on Thursday, with people talking about his atypical test results for his December 6th VADA-conducted test.
Smith (29-1, 24 KOs) had a blank, fish-like look on his face during the face-off, showing no emotion, staring at IBF/WBA/WBO champion Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KOs).
The good news for Smith’s fans is he didn’t have the same drained, pale look to him that he had at the weigh-in for his final fight at 168 against Canelo Alvarez in December 2020.
For that fight, Smith looked so drained that he appeared sickly. Moving up to 175 appears to have helped Smith, but we’ll see whether he cut the mustard against an actual quality opponent after beating two stiffs, Lenin Castillo and Mathieu Bauderlique.
Focused on the Prize
“Once I get in there, I’ll adjust, and I believe I’m good enough to become world champion this weekend,” said Callum Smith to Ariel Helwani’s YouTube channel.
“Not too much. They’re the two champions, and they have all the belts between them,” said Smith when asked if he’s bothered by Eddie Hearn talking about wanting to see Beterbiev face WBA champion Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed championship next in Saudi Arabia.
“It’s a fight, to be honest, that should have happened already. It’s been five years, and they’ve [Beterbiev & Bivol] never fought each other for some reason. I have no reason, but all of a sudden, the talks are happening now.
Disrespectful Whispers and Grand Plans
“It’s a little bit disrespectful when I’ve got a fight scheduled with Beterbiev, but it’ll just make my win that much sweeter now that I’ve ruined everyone’s plans. At the moment, it’s the best against the best until Sunday morning when they’re talking about me and Bivol. That’s the plan.
“No, I’m the mandatory challenger. So when I win, I’m free to go do whatever I want and go fight for the undisputed against Bivol and take his [Beterbiev] place in that fight,” said Smith when asked if there’s a rematch clause for his clash against Beterbiev.
“Yeah, it should be pretty simple to make, and we’d be the only two champions in the weight division. It would be the only fight that makes sense for either of us, to be honest,” said Smith about him and Bivol being the match that must be made if he’s victorious against Beterbiev.
“It’s the natural fight to be made, the winner of the fight this weekend. I think Bivol has already shown interest on his side of it. A lot of things in boxing aren’t straightforward, but the winner of this fight against Bivol should be the most straightforward fight to make,” said Callum.
Beterbiev: Myth vs. Man
“A bit of both. I think people read into it a little too much,” said Smith about people thinking Beterbiev is better than he actually is. “They create this big monster, and they kind of forget the fact that he has been hurt; he has been down twice professionally.
“People seem to be quick to forget that, but his achievements speak for themselves. He’s an undefeated world champion. He’s knocked everyone he’s ever faced, and he holds three world titles. I suppose he does deserve the credit he gets, but I do think people do get carried away, thinking he’s invincible when I don’t believe he is.
“If you can show me that a prime Mike Tyson can lose and a prime Roy Jones Jr, then don’t tell me that Artur Beterbiev is unbeatable. I think he’s a good fighter, but he’s not the hardest person to hit. He can be hit. He does lose rounds, and he doesn’t whitewash all of his opponents,” said Smith.
Best Version of Smith
“Some of his stoppages are pretty close. I just got to believe in myself and the best version of me that turns up; I beat anyone in the world regardless of who’s in the opposite corner,” said Smith. “You can’t overemphasize what they’re going to do and what they’re good at.
“I think the best version of me can beat anyone on the planet, and I fully stand by that, and I plan on proving that this weekend. I think when you lose, there are highlighted areas that you need to improve on, and I’ve made a few changes in my team. I moved up to a different weight division after it.
“These are little changes that I probably wouldn’t have made if I were winning. As long as you’re winning, don’t fix it, but I think when you lose, it kind of gives you that clarity. I’ve made a few changes, and I believe it’s made me a much better fighter because of that.
“I plan on going this weekend and just rectifying that performance. A lot of people have been judging me on that performance [against Canelo Alvarez]. It was a bad performance,” said Smith.
Focused on the Fight, Not the Judges
“People don’t kind of let it go and judge my chances in this fight based on that performance,” said Smith. “That version of Callum Smith doesn’t show up this weekend. I have a much better plan, and that’s what I plan on showing. I’m a much better fighter at 175. I’m a much better fighter under Buddy McGirt.
“It’s now up to me to go out and show that and show the adjustments and show the improvements to become a world champion.
“Two different stories, two different weight divisions, two different opponents,” said Callum on whether fans will judge his career based on his fight with Canelo. “I get judged on my achievements, and as a world champion at super middleweight, I lost to Canelo.
“Then to move up to a weight division where not many people give me a chance because of the Canelo performance. If I couldn’t beat Canelo, I had to move up and become a world champion. But I believe I’ve looked pretty good in the two fights in this weight division, and I plan on making it a hat trick, taking his three belts off of him, and becoming a two-division world champion.
“No, not really. As a fighter, there are enough things to worry about, such as whether the judges are going to give me the decision if it goes to points. I believe if I’ve done enough to win the fight, I’m confident they’ll give me a fair shake.
“If they don’t, it’s out of my hands. It’s not my problem. I can’t go in there worrying about it and letting it affect my performance and my tactics. I just go to do what I need to do to win, whether that’s to win on points or to knock him out. There’s enough things to worry about besides the judging as well.
“It’s been pretty good. They’re a big promotional company. They’ve looked after me here. The fact that I’ve had to travel hasn’t phased me,” said Smith.
