A critical look at the last week in boxing
BIGGEST WINNERArtur Beterbiev
Bring Dmity Bivol. Beterbiev showed in his seventh-round knockout of Callum Smith on Saturday night that he is still going strong as he approaches his 39th birthday on January 21, despite a year-long layoff. of the fight. It was a complete performance. The three-belt 175-pound champion outboxed a good, experienced opponent, outworked him, knocked him down, floored him twice and finally stopped him in his eighth title defense, giving him 20 knockouts in as many fights. His next fight might not be so easy. He and single belt holder Bivol have reportedly agreed to fight for the undisputed championship, although no formal announcement has been made. Bivol is no Smith, as he demonstrated by schooling Canelo Alvarez in 2022. Beterbiev’s boxing ability is underrated due to his knockout record (he sets up his hard punches brilliantly), but he is not as skilled as Bivol, a master technician. who is more athletic than his Russian compatriot. The question is whether Bivol is good enough to avoid Beterbiev’s strangely heavy hands for 12 rounds. Nobody else has been able to do it. Can you think of a more interesting confrontation?
RABBIT PUNCHES
Smith (29-2, 21 KOs) appears to have settled into his place in the boxing hierarchy. The former 168-pound champion is a capable and versatile fighter who has failed to reach the top of the sport, as evidenced by the one-sided defeats in his two most important fights (Alvarez and Beterbiev). Saturday’s setback was particularly damaging. He fought bravely but was never a real threat to Beterbiev, who was the first to drop and stop the Englishman. Smith is good, not special. And it takes a special fighter to beat people like Alvarez and Beterbiev. What’s next for Smith? Perhaps a meeting with his compatriot Anthony Yarde, who was Beterbiev’s previous victim. Smith could be the best light heavyweight in the United Kingdom…
The jury is still out on 168-pound contender Christian Mbilli (26-0, 22 KOs), but one thing’s for sure: he’s fun to watch. The 28-year-old Frenchman throws plenty of punches from the opening bell and doesn’t stop until his opponent can no longer fight, as we saw in his savage sixth-round knockout of the tough but overwhelmed Rohan Murdock (27-3, 19 KOs). on the Beterbiev-Smith card. Naturally, Mbilli wants a chance against undisputed champion Alvarez. How would that work out for you? It’s not right if he fights like he did on Saturday. They would knock him out. We’ll see if Mbilli is just a scrapper or a really good all-round fighter when he moves up in class, whether against Alvarez or a top contender.
