By: Sean Crose
WBC ordered an exciting lightweight title fight. The Council’s current division king, 19-0 Artur Beterbiev, has been instructed to make a deal with 29-1 former world champion Callum Smith by April 11, lest the fight lead to a bid. . Betterbiev is a destructive machine, but Smith is no joke. In fact, the only loss the British player suffered was at the gloved hand of Canelo Alvarez in 2020. Smith was a super middleweight boxer at the time. However, since the lone defeat, Smith has moved into the light heavyweight division and is now ready for a bout with Beterbiev.
It’s hard to imagine Smith taking the favorite bet here (if the match is made). Beterbiev stopped all of his opponents in the distance. Many fans want to see the IBF, WBC and WBO title Beterbiev up against the WBA title – and Canelo Alvarez conqueror – Dmitry Bivol. However, that potential war has yet to come to fruition. With Beterbiev now ordered to take on Smith, a potential showdown with Bivol is likely to be pushed to a later date. After all, Beterbiev will want to take on Bivol for the undisputed heavyweight championship, and he won’t be able to do so if the WBC strip him of his belt for refusing to take on Smith.
