Tony Bellew is baffled by IBF, WBC & WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev’s power after watching him effortlessly crush former 168-lb champion Callum Smith in seven rounds last weekend in Quebec City, Canada.
Bellew doesn’t know how the 38-year-old Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) is still getting stronger at age, and the hard work that the two-time Russian Olympian puts in between fights is a big reason. While other fighters lounge around, Beterbiev keeps working.
It was impressive that Beterbiev took apart one of the biggest punchers in the 175-lb division with his easy two-knockdown, seventh-round TKO win over the 6’3″ Callum Smith.
In terms of power, Smith might have been the bigger puncher than Beterbiev with his left hook smash, but he couldn’t match his work rate. Beterbiev was throwing short punches with good power, and the accumulation was too much for the 33-year-old Smith.
The former world champion Bellew is close to the damage age as Beterbiev, but he’s been retired for six years. He wasn’t blessed with the talent Beterbiev possesses.
Beterbiev’s Age-Defying Power
“He’s strong, he’s a super powerful fighter,” said Tony Bellew to talkSPORT Boxing, talking about Artur Beterbiev after he obliterated Callum Smith in seven brutal rounds last Saturday night in Quebec City.
It was easy to understand why Beterbiev won. He was able to get in close range and just battered the longer-armed Smith. Beterbiev did an excellent job of getting inside on Smith before he could land any of his big punches.
Once Beterbiev was inside, he rained heavy shots to the head of Smith, causing him to turn his back to avoid the punches, which made it worse.
“He’s the only fighter I’ve seen in the history of the sport that’s getting better with age,” said Bellew about Beterbiev, but failing to recognize that the 40-year-old heavyweight Zhilei Zhang is also getting better with age.
“You try to give a fighter every opportunity in those kind of situations,” said Bellew on whether the referee should have stopped the fight before Smith’s cornerman Buddy McGirt jumped into the ring.
“I think he was down on the floor for the first time in his career, and you want to give him every opportunity. Callum will be back. He’s a world-class fighter. He’s very, very good at what he does.
Ageing Gracefully (or Viciously)
“It’s unfortunate to come up against somebody like Artur Beterbiev. At 39 years old, he’s getting stronger than ever; he’s more destructive than ever,” said Bellew about Smith.
If Smith had fought someone like Anthony Yarde or maybe even Dmitry Bivol, he would have stood a better chance because those guys are bothered by hard punchers. Unfortunately, Smith picked the wrong champion to challenge, and he paid a heavy price.
“He couldn’t put a dent in him [Beterbiev]. He nailed him clean with a counter left hook in round two,” said Bellew. “He hit him full-on flush with a right hand in round four, and none of them had an effect, which I found astounding.”
Smith caught Beterbiev with left hooks that landed flush in rounds two, four, and six, but he surprisingly took them without getting hurt. Those punches were harder than the variety that Yarde was nailing Beterbiev with, and he seemed more powered by his because they were thrown with speed.
“I’ve had nights like that myself. Artur Beterbiev looked indestructible on Saturday night. He looked as close as I’ve seen to unbeatable in a fighter for a long, long time because no matter what, and you’re talking about a world-class fighter who has been at the top of the sport, and he just couldn’t put a dent in him or any kind of reactions or impressions from him. He just walked right through him,” said Bellew.
