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Canadian Quebec will host the main fight of January for boxing fans this weekend. Russian Artur Beterbiev will enter a 12-round fight against Briton Callum Smith and will once again try to defend his world champion titles according to the versions of the World Boxing Council (WBC), the World Boxing Organization (WBO) and the International Boxing Federation (IBF). Sports talks about the significance of the upcoming show and discusses the likelihood of organizing a furious confrontation between Beterbiev and compatriot Dmitry Bivol.
Beterbiev VS Smith
- When: January 13 (on the night of the 14th Moscow time);
- Where: Videotron Centre, Quebec (Canada);
- Start of the fight: after 06:00 Moscow time;
- Where to watch: legal broadcast will not be available in Russia;< /li>
- Odds: 1.2 and 4.9 in favor of the current champion.
Initially, the fight between Beterbiev and Smith was supposed to take place on August 19. However, the Russian’s health problems intervened: the champion was forced to delay his return to the ring due to an infection that got into the jaw bone during dental treatment. As the boxer himself later said, doctors insisted on postponing the fight. Thus, Beterbiev remained out of the game for almost a year. In January 2023, not without difficulty, he defeated Briton Anthony Yarde ahead of schedule and improved his perfect record to 19-0 (all victories were achieved by knockout).
However, a simple favorite will not play into the hands of the ex-champion with the interesting nickname “Mundo” (that’s what the athlete’s father called him, hinting at the fifth fictional ninja turtle). After all, the Briton himself has not fought since August 2022, when he dealt with Mathieu Boderlik in four rounds and received the status of an official contender for the WBC title.
How, then, can the Briton surprise the dominant champion? Smith is younger than Beterbiev (33 years versus 38) and significantly taller (an advantage of nine centimeters in height and 13 cm in arm span). In addition, he has never lost ahead of schedule: the only loss by decision of the judges was suffered by the native of Liverpool to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in the super middleweight division. And he knows how to knock out: 21 out of 29 victories were achieved by knockout. I can’t believe that the fight between two owners of crushing blows with 40 early triumphs between them will last the entire distance. The probability of a knockout is extremely high.
It's not just belts that will be on the line. For Beterbiev, as well as for Smith (“I plan to ruin their plans!”), Saturday’s meeting will be the last fight before the moment of truth… A long-suffering fight for the title of absolute world light heavyweight boxing champion, in which, apparently, they are ready to invest financially in Saudi Arabia, which has become the new Mecca of world boxing.
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“There are no problems with holding this fight. If Bivol wants. I won't be upset if the fight doesn't happen. I have a sporting interest in it: I competed in the national team in the weight category up to 91 kg. And he moved to 75 or 81 kg – how could they put me in sparring with him? Nice guy, well done, won the belt. I'm not challenging you to a fight, I'm proposing to hold it. There is no point in calling if one does not want to.”
Dmitry Bivol froze in anticipation. At the end of December, the Russian defeated Briton Lyndon Arthur by unanimous decision and, keeping a zero in the “defeat” column, defended the World Boxing Association (WBA Super) world champion title and won the International Boxing Organization (IBO) champion title. As the Western press reported, after the 22nd victory in his professional career, Bivol agreed to the Saudis’ conditions for a fight with Beterbiev.
However, Dmitry is not against sharing the ring with former WBA and WBC Diamond title holder Smith.
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“I believe in a fight with the winner of the Beterbiev vs. Smith fight. When I signed the contract for the fight with Arthur, Saudi Arabia was interested in holding this cool confrontation. They want a fight for the undisputed world light heavyweight title. I want a winner: whoever wins, I will fight.”
Dmitry Bivol
If the fight between Beterbiev and Bivol is organized, it will be interesting to listen to WBC President Mauricio Suleiman, who previously stated that he would not allow it to take place a big fight because of Dmitry's Russian citizenship.
How will a functionary who has lost touch with sports reality now behave? Will he not allow the title to be put on the line, or will he, courted by Saudi money, forget about the ultimatum (“as long as there is no boxing in Ukraine, we will not allow boxing to exist in Russia”)?
The author’s opinion may not coincide with the position of the editors
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