Following his undisputed light-heavyweight win against Dmitry Bivol, Artur Beterbiev has been mentioned alongside Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez for a potential fight. One man who knows them better than most is Callum Smith.
Having beaten Liam Smith for the WBO Super-Welterweight World title four years prior, Canelo faced his brother Callum for his first belt at super-middleweight, winning via unanimous decision. Post-fight, the Liverpudlian told Boxing Social he wasn’t overawed by the Mexican’s power.
“He was good he was a clever fighter, I don’t think it was really the best of me in there but he was probably too good for me on the night. His power wasn’t massive. Listen, decent puncher but to be honest I probably expected bigger, I think you overestimate your opponent’s power but it’s more just his presence. He keeps you thinking about what’s coming next and before you know it he’s closed the gap down without throwing a punch. He’s just a clever fighter and so hard to hit clean.”
After just under a year out, Smith moved up to light-heavy and scored two impressive knockouts before getting his shot at unified champion Beterbiev.
Beterbiev’s constant pressure broke through in the seventh round and he scored the 20th stoppage of his career. Smith told Sky Sports that it was the constant punches that broke him down.
“He’s just good at, he’s a bit like my brother Liam, he’s just good at always constantly touching, touching, just obviously his touching is a little bit harder. His power, look he stopped me, but until those shots and knockdown I didn’t feel anything power-wise, he’s more just constantly touching you and stopping you from getting into any rhythm but no excuses, the better man won. He’s a good champion.”
Beterbiev is now most likely to go into an immediate rematch with Bivol. Canelo has previously said he isn’t interested in any other fight at 175 other than avenging his loss to the same man, so will now have to look elsewhere for an opponent in 2025.
