We are days away from the unified light heavyweight title fight streaming live from the Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Canada, on ESPN+. Unified champion Artur Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KOS) will look to continue his perfect knockout ratio against former super middleweight champion Callum Smith (29-1, 21 KOs). Will boxing continue ruining future matchups that have been overmarinated by having Smith win on Saturday night?
WILL FATHER TIME DEFEAT ARTUR BETERBIEV IN THE CALLUM SMITH FIGHT?
.@ABeterbiev delivered a beatdown to earn his third Light Heavyweight belt 😤#BeterbievSmith | JAN 13 | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/mvClL1cIr2
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) January 10, 2024
Although it doesn’t appear to be the case, Beterbiev will try his best to avoid getting beat by both Smith and Father Time. He is now 38 years old, and there is a reason why he has only fought once a year after fighting twice in 2019: injuries. Beterbiev puts so much into his training camps and on fight night, that his body reacts negatively once he comes off the high of a fight. As journalist Steve Kim would say, “activity matters,” and maybe Beterbiev has been struck with the injury bug because of it. Although father time is bound to catch up to Beterbiev at some point, Saturday night’s fight doesn’t appear to be the moment it does.
Beterbiev will break Smith down, and just like the Yarde fight, an accumulation of punches will do it. The early body shots will take their toll, and once those long arms of Smith come down, that’s when Beterbiev will start landing his big bombs to the head, leading to a stoppage.
CALLUM SMITH HAS THE OPPORTUNITY OF A LIFETIME
The fight that changed it all @CallumSmith23.
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) January 10, 2024
🎬 Beterbiev vs Smith: A Tale of 10 Punches is available now on the TR YouTube channel. pic.twitter.com/RM2VheUYNU
This isn’t the first time Smith is in a big fight as he faced undisputed super middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in 2020. Although he came up short that night, it gave him the world-class experience he needed, but it also signaled to him that his time at that weight class was up. Since moving to light heavyweight, Smith has appeared more comfortable and scored two consecutive stoppages. Although that built up his confidence, those opponents aren’t near the level of Beterbiev, which makes this a hard fight for Smith.
Smith must be perfect for 12 rounds to win this fight. Smith will have to maintain a steady diet of jabs, and he will have to keep the fight in the middle of the ring while being outside of mid-range if he wants to win. Conditioning will be key, and if Smith put the work in during Training Camp, he can use his legs to keep away from the snowball offense of Beterbiev and pull off the big upset on Saturday night.
ARTUR BETERBIEV VS. CALLUM SMITH PREDICTION
Although Smith will be a tough challenge, Beterbiev will break him down and stop him by the eighth round.
ARTUR BETERBIEV VS. CALLUM SMITH BETTING ODDS
Per BetOnline.ag, Artur Beterbiev is the favorite at -450 (Over 8 ½ rounds -125), and Callum Smith is the underdog at +325 (Under 8 ½ rounds -105).
Artur Beterbiev: TKO/KO -250; Decision +450
Draw: +2000
Callum Smith: TKO/KO +575; Decision +825
Round Group Betting
Callum Smith by KO/TKO/DQ in
Round 1 to 3 +6600
Callum Smith by KO/TKO/DQ in
Round 4 to 6 +2800
Callum Smith by KO/TKO/DQ in
Round 7 to 9 +1800
Callum Smith by KO/TKO/DQ in
Round 10 to 12 +2000
Don't miss a moment from up North!#BeterbievSmith events stream right here 🇨🇦 pic.twitter.com/Q1w1YjI109
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) January 8, 2024
Artur Beterbiev by KO/TKO/DQ in
Round 1 to 3 +1000
Artur Beterbiev by KO/TKO/DQ in
Round 4 to 6 +400
Artur Beterbiev by KO/TKO/DQ in
Round 7 to 9 +225
Artur Beterbiev by KO/TKO/DQ in
Round 10 to 12 +250
ARTUR BETERBIEV VS. CALLUM SMITH DATE, START TIME
- Date: Saturday, January 13
- Start time: 10 p.m. ET / 7 p.m. PT
- Main event ringwalks (approx): 12:00 a.m. ET / 9:00 p.m. PT
These timings could change due to the length of the undercard fights.
FIGHT WEEK FROM QUEBEC 👑#BeterbievSmith | JAN 13 | @ESPN pic.twitter.com/6oRW2FUdGf
— Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) January 8, 2024
WHAT CHANNEL/STREAM IS ARTUR BETERBIEV VS. CALLUM SMITH?
- U.S.: ESPN+
- UK: Sky Sports
ARTUR BETERBIEV VS. CALLUM SMITH FIGHT CARD
- Artur Beterbiev vs. Callum Smith for IBF, WBC and WBO world light heavyweight titles
- Jason Moloney vs Saul Sanchez for WBO bantamweight title
- Christian Mbilli vs Rohan Murdock
- Imam Khataev vs Rodolfo Gomez Jr
- Christopher Guerrero vs Sergio Garcia Herrera
- Mehmet Unal vs Dragan Lepei
- Leila Beaudoin vs Elizabeth Chavez Espinoza
- Moreno Fendero vs Victor Hugo Flores
- Wilkens Mathieu vs Jose Arias Alvarez
