Eddie Hearn is not backing down from his prediction of a knockout victory for his ace, Callum Smith, against undefeated unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev on Saturday night in Quebec City.
Hearn recognizes that Smith (29-1, 21 KOs) is the underdog and most boxing fans believe he will lose, but he knows what he is capable of doing.
He feels that Beterbiev’s high-pressure fighting style is the ideal type of opponent that former WBO super middleweight champion Smith likes.
Smith’s counterattack
Hearn believes Callum’s left hook counter will cause him to catch Beterbiev at some point in the fight to knock him out. He points out that Callum Johnson caught Beterbiev with a counter in the second round of their fight in 2018 and knocked him down. Johnson didn’t possess the same type of power or size as Smith.
“When you’re cutting off the ring and forcing the fight, that’s when Callum has his best chance to land that type of shot. “I know he’s not the favorite but I really think he’s got a great chance,” Eddie Hearn told Gareth A. Davies’ YouTube channel, speaking about his fighter Callum Smith’s title shot against the light heavyweight champion of the IBF, the WBC and the WBO, Artur Beterbiev. .
“Artur Beterbiev is a great champion. “Maybe one of the best pound-for-pound fighters, but Callum Smith is a very good fighter who hits very hard, especially at the 175-pound weight,” Hearn continued.
“Don’t forget at 12 stones [168], he was not the same fighter, he did not have the same power. Look at these two wins at 175, although not against the elite guys, but devastating. I just see it, I like it and I think it will be a great fight.
“Yeah [predict a Smith knockout win]. Beterbiev has a great work rate. It’s going to be difficult to win rounds. One thing. If you step on Callum, that’s his chance to take those shots.
“His counterattacking left hook shot is his signature shot. We have seen it with Callum Johnson against Beterbiev. We’ve seen it with Yarde having success with the left hook.
“I’m sure they’ve trained for it, but it happens very quickly. When you throw the kind of volume that Artur Beterbiev throws, you’re also very open to getting hit,” Hearn said.
