Artur Beterbiev doesn’t fight like a guy who will turn 39 on January 21st.
The 175-pound champion dominated another good opponent on Saturday in Quebec City, Canada, this time knocking down Callum Smith twice and stopping him in the seventh round.
Beterbiev has already defeated all 20 of his professional opponents.
The winner outjabbed, boxed and outworked Smith (29-2, 21 KOs) from the first round, patiently and methodically stalking him and gradually taking him down.
Smith, a former 168-pound champion, had some good moments (Beterbiev is punchable) but had neither the skill nor the punching power to stop the winner.
The end came suddenly. Beterbiev landed a right hand to Smith’s temple about a minute into the seventh round, buckling the Englishman’s knees. He followed up with a ferocious attack that ultimately dropped Smith for the first time in his career.
Smith was able to get up, but took another series of hard blows that left him on the canvas for a second time about 30 seconds later. At that moment, his trainer, Buddy McGirt, jumped into the ring to prevent his fighter from receiving further punishment.
The official time of the stoppage was 2:00 of the seventh round.
CompuBox statistics reflect Beterbiev’s dominance. He landed 182 of 471 total punches (38.6%) to Smith’s 59 of 366 (16.1%). Additionally, he had an 87-31 advantage in power punches.
Beterbiev was modest afterwards.
“It’s luck,” he said. “He’s my coach (Marc Ramsay). My team also works hard with me. Maybe that’s why too. But I think it’s luck.”
He continued: “We had a couple of strategies. We always have more than one. We need to be prepared for several strategies. He gave me a good fight. He stayed strong. Thanks to him. Today luck is on my side.”
The win could set up a title unification showdown with Dmitry Bivol, as both men have reportedly accepted the fight.
Bivol has already enjoyed success at the top of the sport, surpassing superstar Canelo Alvarez in May 2022. Bivol would be the most successful opponent of Beterbiev’s career.
The winner would become undisputed champion and the most respected 175-pound weight of the time.
“Yes of course [I want the Bivol fight]”Béterbiev said. “I need another belt. “It would mean a lot to me.”
