Callum Smith’s brother, Stephen, says Artur Beterbiev’s management chose to have a smaller ring for last Saturday’s fight at the Centre Videotron, and he’s not sure if that played a part in the fight’s outcome.
It sounds like a weak excuse that Stephen has come up with to try and make sense of his brother Callum’s loss. His movements were slow & stilted compared to the quick-footed Beterbiev.
Stephen thinks the smaller ring “possibly” factored in Beterbiev’s seventh-round knockout because it kept Callum from moving around.
Callum (29-2, 21 KOs) has never been much of a mover during his career, so it’s questionable whether he could have eluded IBF, WBC & WBO light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) for long if he had tried.
The location of the fight, in Quebec City, Canada, was not ideal for Smith if he had attempted to box & move all night to keep Beterbievv from getting to him.
Ring Size Question
“I just think he couldn’t stamp his authority on it early enough. It was their choice, their show, and they took a smaller ring. They know obviously that Beterbiev wouldn’t have to be chasing after Callum. That was their choice. Did it play a part in it? I don’t know. Possibly,” said Stephen Smith to Boxing News about the Artur Beterbiev vs. Callum Smith fight taking place in a smaller ring last night.
It sounds ridiculous for Stephen to be bringing up ring size as a possible explanation for what happened last night.
Beterbiev has shown in the past to quickly close the distance in larger rings, getting to his opponents in lightning-like blitzes, which would help his power because he would throw while moving forward. If anything, a larger ring would have helped Beterbiev score a quicker knockout against Callum.
Beterbiev’s Calculated Aggression
“We expected him to try and stamp his authority and come quick,” said Smith when asked if he was surprised that Beterbiev started fast in the first round, jumping on Callum right away and backing him up.
Beterbiev did start fast, attacking Smith right off the bat in the first round, and had him looking in distress. For some reason, Beterbiev backed off and boxed, even though he didn’t get hit with anything in the opening round for him to change tactics.
“We expected him to pressure, but we assumed it would be a little bit more relentless, loading up on his shots and committing where Callum could have a chance counter,” said Smith. “He’s very confident in his power. He’s gotten rid of everyone he’s ever been in the ring with,” Stephen said about Beterbiev.
“When he [Beterbiev] was touch, touch, touch, he was so relaxed, and he was really good defensively to the wide shots. Callum never caught him. He was just missing, or he was blocking.”
Beterbiev was smart not to get into risky exchanges with Smith early on while he was still fresh and dangerous. You could see that Smith was constantly looking for his left hook counter when attacked by Beterbiev.
Impregnable Defense and Precise Power
“We knew Beterbiev would throw shots and would throw them big, and Callum would take his opportunities and counter and not back up so much. It was very hard to stay off the ropes in such a small ring,” said Stephen.
“It was about holding your ground and backing him up at times,” said Smith. “Callum did it well at times during the fight, but it was too infrequent.
“Beterbiev was stamping his authority on it for the majority of the fight, and a lot of the things he done where he was staying really relaxed and touching a lot of shots, mixing the power levels up, that was very impressive.
Age as a Distant Hope:
“He doesn’t load up on his shots as frequently as we’d hoped he would,” said Smith about Beterbiev. “He was really good, obviously. You hope and pray that age catches up with him, and I don’t think it did last night.
“If you catch him on a bad night and age catches up to him, then you can go home happy,” said Smith. “I think he [Beterbiev] was impressive last night.”
Beterbiev looked like a younger fighter physically than Smith, and it was foolish for them to think that he’d gotten old since his victory a year ago over Anthony Yarde. Smith had been out for 17 months, waiting for this title shot, and he should have taken a tune-up too stay sharp.
“Callum will make his own decision [about his career]. For any fighter that gets to the world level like that and they lose, it’s easy to say, ‘I’m done.’ It’s so disappointing in your head for the weeks and months because of the postponement,” said Stephen.
“All of a sudden, you wake up, and it’s not happening no more. It’s so deflating. It’s easy to say, ‘I’m done. I’m retiring.’ That’s why you don’t make any decisions. You go home and you rest and recover, and assess the situation and see what it’s about. Callum will do exactly that.”
Uncertain Future and Open Options:
“He’ll go home and weigh his options. When he’s rested and recovered, it’s time to go again,” said Stephen. “I think he’ll make a decision. It’s a bit of a tough one because it’s public knowledge; everyone knows the undisputed fight [between Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol] is happening next.”
If Smith wants to wait and hope for one of the light heavyweight titles to be vacated after Beterbiev faces WBA champion Dmitry Bivol, it could be a wasted gamble.
Smith can still make good money fighting notable 168-lb and 175-lb contenders like Anthony Yarde, Joshua Buatsi, David Benavidez, and Caleb Plant.
“Will they have a rematch clause? Will the belts be tied up for a long time?” said Stephen. “If that’s the case, Callum has done everything he wanted to do. I don’t think he’ll want to go back to a British fight or a European or anything like that. I don’t think that’ll motivate him.
“He’s done really well in boxing. He’s achieved a lot. British, European, world champion. The Ring Magazine belt is very unique in itself. Not many have done it. He’s dared to be great to be a two-weight world champion and fell short.
“There are goals out there if the belts are tied up for a long time? I don’t know. I don’t see it. Beterbiev could go and flatten Bivol and say, ‘I’m going to move to cruiser. I have new ambitions.'”
It’s likely that the Bivol vs. Beterbiev winner will hold onto the four titles for as long as possible rather than giving them up.
“He [Smith] might say, ‘I’m going to have one more go of it and try and win one of these vacant belts.’ Again, I don’t know. It’s not something that we’ve spoken about. It’s still fresh,” said Smith.
“He’s smart, Callum. He’s not soft. He knows what he wants in life, and has a good head on his shoulders, and thinks he has a good family around him, a good team. He’ll make the right decision for him based on what’s good for him. He’ll have a good happy life after this,” said Smith.
