Paulie Malignaggi views the Artur Beterbiev vs. Callum Smith fight as two power punchers with “pump shotguns” that can leave holes in their opposition.
Malignaggi sees IBF, WBC & WBO light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KOs) as a “stalking killer, who will put applying constant pressure on Smith (29-1, 21 KOs) throughout their fight this Saturday, January 13th at the Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Canada.
Smith, 33, is fighting in just his third contest in the 175-lb division, and he’s not been nearly busy enough to stay sharp since his loss to Canelo Alvarez in 2020. It’s unclear if that’s his fault or his promoter, Eddie Hearn, for only fighting twice since 2020.
The Silent Stalker
“They’re both punchers. Callum has come up to the light heavyweight division. He’s clearly established that he’s a powerful fighter in this weight class with the kind of knockouts that he’s established,” said Paulie Malignaggi to ProBox TV about Callum Smith and Artur Beterbiev.
“They’re basically pump shotguns. They punch holes in you. So either way, there’s a risk for a knockout for both guys. Beterbiev has sort of slowed down. He’s susceptible defensively. We’ve seen him go down, but he gets through you,” said Malignaggi.
As Hearn points out, Smith is a bigger puncher than Beterbiev but not as busy as him. If Smith can throw more without getting clipped, he’d got an excellent chance of winning this fight because he’s got true one-punch power, and is arguably the biggest puncher in the 175-lb division.
He’s just not aggressive enough for him to defeat Beterbiev if he’s going to be throwing a single shot every 20 to 30 seconds.
Shrinking the Space
“He’s got an equalizer that you see nothing in his eyes,” said Malignaggi. “He’s emotionless. He’s stalking killer. What I’ve noticed about Beterbiev, though, is anyone that tries to establish distance and box him patiently, he seems to make the walls close in.
“He’s very good at cutting off the ring. I noticed in the Oleksandr Gvozdyk fight that he makes you work harder to do what you want to do than he has to do.
So if you get through the three-quarters point of the fight where you’re boxing well, and Gvozdyk was boxing well, you feel that you’ve exasperated three times as much energy as him, and you’re tired because he mentally stresses you as well with the way he cuts off the ring,” said Malignaggi.
