Callum Smith sounds brainwashed right now, fully 100% convinced that he will score a knockout of the unbeaten KO machine Artur Beterbiev this Saturday night in Quebec City. Saturday’s Beterbiev-Smith event will be shown live on ESPN at 10:00 p.m. ET.
If Smith is correct with his prediction, he’ll dethrone the long-standing champion Beterbiev, snatching his IBF, WBC & WBO light heavyweight titles and making a boatload of money, fighting WBA champion Dmitry Bivol in Saudi Arabia this year.
What Smith has going against him in pulling off the upset of Beterbiev is a proven track record against A-level opposition. He failed against Canelo Alvarez, and many believe he should have lost to John Ryder as well.
If you remove those two talents from Smith’s resume, you’re left with a bunch of lesser guys. Yeah, Smith beat George Groves, but he was fighting with a bum shoulder and was in the final fight of his career.
Callum: The Challenger with a Punch
Smith (29-1, 21 KOs), a big puncher himself, has been watching Beterbiev’s past fights and noting that he’s vulnerable to getting hit and hurt.
Callum wants to follow the blueprint created by Callum Johnson from their fight in 2018 and jump on Beterbiev early, tagging him with power shots to try and get him out before he gets his offense cranked up.
“He’s a very good fighter, his record speaks for itself, but he’s not invincible, he can be hit, and he can be hurt, we’ve seen that,” Callum Smith said to ESPN about Beterbiev. “I believe he can be hurt, and he can be put over. I know I can put him over, and we have worked on that; I believe I can finish Artur Beterbiev.
It’s important that Smith gets to Beterbiev early in this fight because the longer it goes, the more likely that Artur will land one of his own big shots to score a knockout. Smith has never fought a KO machine like Beterbiev before.
Even when Smith lost to Canelo Alvarez, he was dealing with a fighter who fought at a slow pace, throwing mostly single punches and not putting it on him the way Beterbiev would do.