THE RESULT: Artur Beterbiev retains his trio of world light heavyweight belts in Quebec City by knocking down Callum Smith twice in the seventh round. Smith’s trainer, Buddy McGirt, told referee Michael Griffin that he had seen enough after the second fall.
KEY MOMENTS: Beterbiev’s 20-second flurry of shots in the first round. It was a sign of intent from the destructive Russian. In the fourth round he shrugged off Smith’s size advantage by sticking to him like Velcro, landing heavy punches at close range, forcing the Brit to retreat.
RECORDS: Beterbiev’s impeccable record reaches 20-0 (20). Smith suffers his second loss at the elite level and is now 29-2 (21)
TALKING POINT: The 18-foot ring that surprised some beforehand. A size that caused a tear, but Beterbiev left with barely a mark, which has been rare in his career.
QUOTABLE: “He gave me a good fight, he stayed strong, but luck is on my side,” the winner said later. And when asked about a fight against Dmitry Bivol, he replied “Yes, of course. I need another [fourth] belt.”
Beterbiev’s promoter, Bob Arum, also gave his opinion on the matter. “It’s not done yet. We want to do it. I will be talking to my friend His Excellency (Turki Alalshikh). I know you want to, but Ramadan is coming up. About three months after the end of Ramadan we will be ready to fight Bivol.”
WHAT HAPPENS NEXT? Having held all four light heavyweight belts for so long, Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol must fight each other. There is no reason why they shouldn’t. This was only Callum Smith’s third fight at 175 pounds. An active year against good opposition will keep him in the hunt if the belts fracture in 2025.
