Rope jumper Artur Beterbiev tries to add Joe Smith Jr’s WBO light-heavyweight belt to his WBC and IBF belts this weekend at the Hulu Theatre, Madison Square Garden in a match that’s sure to be sensational nervous. Luke G. Williams previews the action.
Perfection may be a vain concept when it comes to physical performance or artistic expression, but statistically, Artur Beterbiev currently owns a unique piece of perfection with all 17 wins. His professional boxing is all by knockout – a score and record second to none of any other current world title holder.
The Montreal-based Russian-born Khasavyurt set the record – as well as his WBC and IBF light-heavyweight titles – on Saturday night when he pitted WBO champion Joe Smith Jr – a strong puncher in his own right, with 22 stops in 28 wins as a pro. With two pairs of dynamite-holding pugilists on display, this looks like a contest that is sure to turn into a gunfight.
Promoter Bob Arum was certainly confident that this was a fight that would create fireworks, arguing that it was a match that would have been impossible in the light heavyweight big days of the late 1970s and early 1980s.
While doing media rounds this week, the 90-year-old Hall of Fame promoter said:
“This fight takes me back so many decades when Top Rank promoted the top light heavyweights in the world, like Bob Foster, Matthew Saad Muhammad, John Conteh, Eddie Mustafa Muhammad and Marvin Johnson. ”
“The light-heavyweight division gave boxing followers the same powerful feeling that I promoted the matches. Now we have this fight, which will go down in the annals like all the great light and heavyweight fights of the past and maybe even the greatest. Joe Smith is a great fighter. He has a big heart. He has a lot of skill and a lot of punching power.”
“And what can I say about Artur Betterbiev? He truly is the epitome of the ferocity that light heavyweights were once known for. Terrible puncher. Big heart. A guy who doesn’t give up. Nothing could be better than this. I predict that this fight will be considered the Battle of the Year for 2022.”
Arum’s praise is understandable, because Beterbiev is said to be one of the best boxers in pounds in the world right now. The problem is that his professional career has been plagued by disappointing inactivity, with only 17 competitions spanning the nine years since turning pro.
A two-time track and field athlete for his native Russia, Beterbiev won his first world championship in November 2017, stopping Enrico Koelling in the final round, but often feels that his career is lacking. direction and it will certainly go down. defining moments and fighting – the highlight so far has been his October 2019 win over Oleksandr Gvozdyk in a WBC and IBF belt unification match.
On that night in Philadelphia, Beterbiev passed two of the three judges’ scorecards before stopping his Ukrainian opponent in the tenth round from asserting himself – by consensus – as the candidate. world’s best light heavyweight.
However, his hard-earned status as the world’s top 175lb-er has been questioned since Beterbiev’s compatriot Dmitriy Bivol clearly appreciated Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in a WBA belt fight. Bivol’s victory – to a certain extent – puts a lot of pressure on Beterbiev.
If he beats Smith and looks good doing so, the four-belt unification match against Bivol will turn out to be one of the best fights possible in boxing; conversely, a failure or poor performance against Smith could result in a Beterbiev-Bivol confrontation becoming commercially unviable or undesirable.
Beterbiev (17-0, 17 KOs) is definitely a strong opponent to beat Smith. The educational pressure he is under in the ring and the terrifying consistency of his strength – he can seemingly destroy an opponent at any stage of the fight from the first round to the end. along – making him a terrifying proposition.
Betterbiev also possesses underrated technique and fundamentals. Last time he faced Marcus Browne, a match he won through a bloody ninth round, he also displayed a great temperament and ability to increase the tempo of his performance, increasing speed. his performance after being hit by a monstrous cut that almost resulted in a goal conceded by the referee, and sent Browne off the field in clinical fashion.
Having said that, Betterbiev isn’t indestructible – Callum Johnson beat and hurt him in their 2018 fight. Furthermore, now that Beterbiev is 37 years old, it is reasonable to question whether he may have entered a period of decline.
The Russians, of course, argue that this is not the case:
“I always ask my boxing coach and conditioning coach how I’m doing.”
“I asked them if it was less than I did two years ago. They told me I was doing better than two years ago. [If] we compare it to last time, this camp went very well. This camp got better. I want to thank my team, my conditioning coach, my boxing coach, all of my team and all of my competition partners for helping me. We had a good camp. ”
However, anyone who can develop a grudge against the Russians is undoubtedly Smith (28-3, 22 KOs), who has had a habit of confusing many doubters, who have suggested that he is a willing but limited trio. A blue-collar ‘real-life Rocky’ type of character, Smith possesses solid working-class qualifications; he used to work in a wastewater treatment plant and is often seen around his dear Long Island helping his father with his tree service business.
The 32-year-old was the underrated man when he faced Andrzej Fonfara and Bernard Hopkins in 2016, and was again rated an outsider four years later against Jesse Hart and Eleider Alvarez – one of the On this occasion Smith won unexpected victories.
“People can think of a bad guy,” said Smith promoter Joe DeGuardia this week. “How many fights has he been in where he was an underdog and got through? Sure, he knows what it’s like to come in as the underdog, what it’s like when people say, you know, they don’t believe he’s going to win.
“In this particular war [against Beterbiev], he goes on to fight another person that everyone sees as King Kong, you know, Godzilla, or whatever you want to call him. It was also a motivating factor for Joe. There’s something to be said about going into that round when you’re the underdog and turning the tide on everyone. “
Smith himself also puts on a positive note in the build-up to the fight, albeit in his own rather low-key and humble way:
“Home isn’t too far from here.”
“All my fans will be here to support me or else, watch at home. I’m happy to be here defending my WBO title and unifying the other two belts. I believe this guy is at his peak. I don’t think age has anything to do with it. I know he is here with 100% and ready to go. I knew I was here to fight one of the best, so I trained at 110%. ”
Although DeGuardia and Smith believe they can upset Betterbiev, I remain skeptical. Unless the Russian has dropped significantly since his win over Browne last year, he will certainly possess too much power, pressure and pluses for the Smith American.
I see Smith fighting with spirit and effort, and might even get through some early rounds if he succeeds in his early hits, boxing and moves, but in the end Beterbiev will take control and have the ball. can stop him late. Having said that, Smith has considerable heart and good punch resistance, so I would give him a good chance to be the first man to extend Beterbiev the full 12 innings. Ruining that perfect knockout streak – truth be told – was a moral victory for Smith.
Read Boxing Social article for full details on Beterbiev Vs Smith US and UK start times, how to watch and underline.
