By: Sean Crose
The man has never lost a war. Not once. Moreover, the light heavyweight champion athlete Artur Beterbiev never went far. Not once. Not in all of his 17 professional games. He stopped every opponent he faced in the distance. Needless to say, Betterbiev is not a fighter that can be considered boring. However, the same could happen to Beterbiev’s opponent this coming Saturday night in New York. For 26-3 Joe Smith is known for his unwavering approach to boxing. He’s the one who got Bernard Hopkins to retire – though, rather, Hopkins was 51 years old at the time and had declared the fight with Smith his last battle before then.
With WBA champion Dmitry Bivol shocking Canelo Alvarez last month, light heavyweight has been in the spotlight lately. With that in mind, Beterbiev has everything to lose if Smith somehow lifts his WBC and IBF belts (Beterbiev has walking preference) as a result of their scheduled 12th round. The same is true for WBO player Smith. The winner of this Saturday’s bout will own three light heavyweight belts, meaning an undisputed future fight with Bivol won’t be up for debate (however, here it is. the sport of boxing, one never really knows).
Smith’s last game was a knockout against Steve Greffard in the 9th round last January. Beterbiev’s last game was a 9th round knockout against Marcus Brown last December. No one has more heart than Smith, although the unanimous opinion seems to be that Beterbiev will end the fight on Saturday in the gap. However, when “everyone” seems to agree on something, “everyone” can often be wrong. Furthermore, tomorrow’s game will be at the Theater in Madison Square Garden. A native Long Island resident, Smith would fight in his state. A supportive crowd can go a long way for a boxer.
Featherweight Abraham Nova will also appear on Saturday’s card. The New Yorker 21-0 (by facing Puerto Rico) will face Robeisy Ramirez 9-1 in a scheduled 10th round match. Nova’s final matchup was William Encarnacian’s eighth round match back in January. Ramirez’s final fight was Eric Donavan’s 3-round rematch in February. Nova-Ramirez, along with the Beterbiev-Smith main event, will be broadcast live on ESPN and ESPN+ starting at 10 p.m. ET on Saturday night. Before that, the match will be broadcast live on ESPN+ starting at 6 p.m. Eastern time.
