Callum Smith suffered defeat for the first time in his career last Saturday night, getting dropped twice and stopped in the seventh round by unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev.
What surprised Smith (29-2, 21 KOs) was how Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) dominated him, hitting him with shots that weren’t that hard until the seventh round.
Beterbiev, who holds the IBF, WBC & WBO light heavyweight titles, was too talented for the 33-year-old Smith, and it wasn’t much of a fight despite Callum holding the height, reach, and youth advantage over the 38-year-old.
Constant Pressure
Callum compared Beterbiev’s constant “touching with his shots, similar to how his brother, Liam Smith, fights, but he acknowledges the power is different. With Beterbiev hitting Smith frequently, he couldn’t get in his rhythm to get comfortable.
“He’s a bit like my brother Liam; he’s always touching, touching, touching, but obviously his touching is a bit harder,” said Callum Smith to Sky Sports News, talking about the power of Artur Beterbiev.
Beterbiev fights differently than Liam Smith. He’s more of an inside fighter, throws shorter shots, and unloads on his shots in speedy bursts when attacking. Liam loads up on his punches more, and he’s not a big combination puncher unless he’s got someone in trouble, as he did in his first fight with Chris Eubank Jr.
“His power, he’s stopped me, but up until the last shot, I didn’t feel anything power-wise; he’s just touching you constantly to stop you from getting any sort of rhythm,” said Callum.
It was the bombarding of punches from Beterbiev that took Smith out in the seventh round. After hurting Smith with a right hand, Beterbiev went for the kill and hammered him to the canvas with some big punches.
It didn’t help Smith that he was turning his back and lowering his head, which enabled Beterbiev to tag him with rabbit shots.
Vulnerability in the Storm
“I don’t think he’s the hardest to hit; he’s pretty readable; whether he felt any from me, I’m not too sure; he’s good at touching you and stopping you from getting any momentum,” said Smith.
Like most knockout artists, Beterbiev isn’t a defensive specialist. He puts himself in harm’s way to go for the knockout, and that’s a common trait for fighters who have a lot of KOs. If Beterbiev wanted, he could avoid getting hit, but he would have fewer knockouts.
