Eddie Hearn says Callum Smith (29-1, 21 KOs) can get into the undisputed fight with Dmitry Bivol if he cleanly connects IBF, WBC and WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev to knock him out cleanly with a single hit on Saturday night. at the Videotron Center in Quebec City.
Hearn believes former WBA super middleweight champion Smith will line up Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KOs) for a knockout punch in the eighth or ninth round to get him out of there.
The Beterbiev-Smith event will air live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ this Saturday, January 13 at 10 pm ET/7 pm PT.
Hearn’s Vision: A Smith Knockout Masterclass
“Callum is fresh, a very fresh fighter. Very big. Callum Smith is one of the biggest stars in British boxing. He was Ring Magazine champion and WBA champion at 168 pounds, and fought Canelo Alvarez. He probably didn’t do himself justice in that fight. It was very difficult to make weight,” promoter Eddie Hearn told the media.
Smith should be fresh, considering he is coming off a 17-month layoff since his fourth-round knockout victory over Mathieu Bauderlique in August 2022. Callum says he has kept busy, training all this time so as not to worry about inactivity.
“Against Beterbiev you can’t waste time. “You can’t come here and play, try to survive, try to escape and get off the back foot,” Hearn said.
“You have to be brave enough to trade with him, and like I said. If he switches and lands, the fight is over. No disrespect to Beterbiev, but that’s how I envision this fight. A clean one-punch knockout for Callum Smith, and I think that’s going to happen,” Hearn said.
Smith has to fight at a faster pace against Beterbiev than in his fight with Bauderlique, because he was fighting at too slow a pace and was getting hit frequently. If Beterbiev connects as often as Bauderlique did, he will stop Smith and his dream of fighting for the undisputed title will be over.
The undisputed carrot: Bivol awaits the winner
“I already signed for that fight when I made the deal for Dmitry. [Bivol] to fight Lyndon Arthur in Saudi Arabia. He came with another fight to be undisputed,” Hearn said about WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol already signing to face Beterbiev,” Hearn said.
“Obviously, Saudi Arabia still has to reach an agreement with Top Rank and Artur Beterbiev. But Dmitry Bivol was already committed to that fight, but we think it will be Dmitry Bivol against Callum Smith, but we have to see.
“Certainly, if Artur won on Saturday, that fight would be there for him in the Middle East,” Hearn said.
