Two of the biggest punchers in the light heavyweight division go at it this Saturday night, with Artur Beterbiev and Callum Smith fighting in a twelve-round contest with three titles.
No Mercy, No distance
IBF/WBC/WBO 175-lb champion Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KOs) and Smith (29-1, 21 KOs) will be going to war with the judges taking a backseat, and not expected to have a say in the outcome.
Beterbiev, 38, hopes to keep his perfect 100% KO rating intact with a knockout of the Eddie Hearn-promoted Smith and move forward to a well-paying undisputed championship against WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol this summer in Saudi Arabia. Beterbiev has already signed for the Bivol fight, so he needs to get through Saturday’s contest with Smith.
Will age play a role?
“If you are going to fight Beterbiev, it looks like it’s the right time to catch him. It looks like he’s slowing down a bit. It’s not like he’s not been hurt before. He’s been dropped, and stylistically, Callum is probably the best one to do it,” said British light heavyweight prospect Ben Whittaker to Boxing News, talking about Saturday’s fight between IBF/WBC/WBO 175-lb champion Artur Beterbiev and WBC mandatory Callum Smith.
“He’s [Callum Smith] tall, he can punch, he can fight on the inside.”
Smith’s ability to fight on the inside is suspect, along with his ability to take big shots without falling apart mentally under pressure. We saw Canelo Alvarez beating the daylights out of a cowering Smith in 2020, and a year earlier, it was the same thing with John Ryder smashing him up on the inside.
Callum Smith’s best wins:
– George Groves: *fought with a shoulder problem
– Lenin Castillo: fringe contender/journeyman
– John Ryder: *Controversial win. Fans thought Smith lost
– Mathieu Bauderlique: Unproven fighter who looked mediocre
– Nieky Holzken: Almost lost to this guy
“You never judge by age, especially today. Some people get smarter and better with age, so you don’t judge it,” said trainer Buddy McGirt, the trainer for Callum Smith, talking about it not being a good idea to look at the age of the 38-year-old Beterbiev as a factor in the fight.
It must be pointed out that the 33-year-old Callum Smith isn’t exactly a spring chicken either, so it’s not as if he’s young and Beterbiev is old. Smith is an old 33, with a lot of miles on him from the beatdown he took from Canelo and Ryder. Physically, you can argue that Callum is actually older than Beterbiev, which could play a factor in the outcome.
“So you got to prepare for a young warrior, which Beterbiev is, and that’s what we’re focusing on. I’m not focusing on an older guy or none of that. It’s going to turn into a shootout eventually, but my guy is going to come out on top,” said McGirt, hoping Smith will be victorious.
