Plans are being made in regards to a future undisputed light heavyweight title bout between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, but light heavyweight contender Callum Smith wants to ruin those plans when he faces Beterbiev on Saturday, January 13th, at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Quebec, Canada.
Callum Smith has noticed the Beterbiev vs Bivol chatter, and he believes it’s disrespectful, especially when you consider the fact that Smith is Beterbiev’s next opponent. Smith feels like he’s being overlooked, and he plans on playing the role of the spoiler.
This world championship bout is presented by Top Rank and will air live on January 13th on ESPN. Callum Smith (29-1, 21 KOs) will attempt to become a two-division titlist when he takes on WBC, WBO, and IBF light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KOs).
In the 25th bout of his pro boxing career, Callum Smith knocked out George Groves in the seventh round and won the WBA super-middleweight title back in September 2018. He defended his world title twice in 2019 as he defeated Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam and John Ryder.
A year later, Callum Smith was back in the ring to face Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. Smith was making a third defense of his WBA super-middleweight title. The winner of this bout was set to become a unified champion as the WBA and the vacant WBC titles were at stake.
After going through the feeling-out process in the first round, Canelo proceeded to take over the fight by pressing forward and landing heavy blows. Smith was overwhelmed as he spent the majority of the bout fighting off his back foot, and unfortunately, he would go on to lose via unanimous decision.
Smith would bounce back with two knockout victories, and now he’s on the verge of fighting for a unified world title. The British boxer Callum Smith feels confident, and he believes he has the skill set needed to pull off the upset.
“I’m confident in my own ability, and I feel I can beat him when I’m at my best. I believe the best version of me beats anyone in the world,” Smith said. “In my eyes, it’ll be me winning against Beterbiev and then me against Bivol after that. So, I think I can ruin people’s plans.”
Callum Smith believes he can post a knockout victory over Artur Beterbiev. Smith’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, took it a step further during an interview with Fight Hub TV when he explained how his fighter would score a knockout over Beterbiev.
“Callum Smith is going to knock Beterbiev spark out,” Hearn said. “See this now, sometimes you see it right, he’s going to be up against the ropes, and Beterbiev is going to come in as he does, he’s going to square up his feet, and Callum is going to do what he does best which is catch counter with the left hook, one punch knockout.”
