Three belts at stake and the prospect of a unification fight with Bivol: what you need to know about the fight between Beterbiev and Smith

Hike for the third belt

After a short pause caused by the pandemic and the need to hold a couple of defenses, Artur Beterbiev continued on his way to the title of undisputed light heavyweight champion of the world.

He took the first step back in November 2017, when he won the IBF belt that became vacant after the departure of Andre Ward in the battle with Enrico Koelling, and the second after 23 months.

Then he severely knocked out the WBC title holder Alexander Gvozdik and began to own trophies already in two versions.

Before him, only one Russian managed to do this - Sergey Kovalev, who collected three prestigious belts at once.

And already on Sunday night (6:00 Moscow time) Beterbiev will have the opportunity to repeat the success of his compatriot and get closer to achieving the goal.

To do this, he needs to deal with the current WBO champion Joe Smith Jr., who has made solid progress in the last couple of years.

The American has been at the top of the division since 2016, when he defeated Andrzej Fonfara and took the WBC title, but only once managed to defend it - in a fight with Bernard Hopkins.

The question is whether the victory over the legendary, but super-aged athlete, who celebrated his 52nd birthday a month after the fight, can be called a serious achievement.

At the same time, in battles with younger and more hungry opponents, Smith lost twice.

First he lost his belt in a battle with Sullivan Barrera, and then he was beaten by Dmitry Bivol.

And as a result of these battles, his weaknesses were exposed.

There was no need to question Joe's power, because already in the first round he managed to send the Cuban to the canvas and seriously shake the Russian in the 10th three-minute period (although the right overhand was struck after the gong).

But in terms of tactics and technology, he was noticeably inferior.

He missed a lot in exchanges, and looked unimpressive at a long distance.

However, Smith subsequently did a great job and won four times in a row, along the way taking the vacant WBO title in a duel with Maxim Vlasov.

And there is no doubt that now he can be considered the most dangerous opponent for Beterbiev in recent years.

He certainly surpasses both Adam Dines and Marcus Brown, whose main achievement in the battle with the Russian was a headbutt that almost provoked a stoppage.

Nevertheless, Arthur still approaches the fight in the status of a clear favorite, which is confirmed by bookmakers' quotes.

The coefficient for his victory is 1.16, while for Joe's success it is 6.1.

Although the ex-world champion in cruiserweight Grigory Drozd was not so categorical.

“There are chances, Smith on the right hits very hard.

Watch his fight with Dima Bivol, when in the 11th round he hit with the right unexpectedly and shocked very much.

Smith has a knockout punch.

He is ... very tough, so there are 100% chances, ”Drozd said to the Championship. 

Battle of the knockouts

Of course, Smith should not be underestimated.

First of all, because of the very knockout blow with which he had already removed 22 representatives of the light heavyweight from his path ahead of time.

And in the battle with Beterbiev it will be much easier for him to use this skill than in the confrontation with the same Bivol.

If Dmitry relies on excellent footwork and prefers to "shoot" the enemy from a long distance, then Arthur, on the contrary, works as the first number and constantly moves closer.

And although its power is very difficult to cope with, it provides the opponent with much more opportunities for retaliatory actions.

And this is precisely where Smith's main chance in the unification fight lies.

He is unlikely to be able to beat Beterbiev, who has a tremendous experience in amateur performances, and do with him the same thing that Bivol did with Saul Alvarez.

But he is able to hit very tightly and shock an opponent who has never been famous for his granite jaw.

Previously, Arthur was knocked down twice - in 2014 he was knocked down by Jeff Page Jr., and in 2018 by Callum Johnson.

Yes, in both cases, the Russian managed to recover and subsequently win an early victory, but the wake-up call still sounded.

By and large, in terms of style, Beterbiev and Smith are very similar to each other, which is why their confrontation promises to become even hotter and more interesting.

In particular, the legendary trainer Teddy Atlas thinks so, who compared future opponents with monster trucks.

In his opinion, an uncompromising battle awaits the fans, during which both will try to send their counterparts to the canvas at all costs.

A slightly more technical and cunning boxer will take over.

Postponement of the fight with Bivol

If Beterbiev still manages to beat Smith and achieve another, 18th win in a row in his career, he will stop a step away from the title of absolute champion, and his long-awaited duel with Bivol will become more relevant than ever.

However, there is no reason to believe that it can take place in the near future.

And the point here is rather in Dmitry himself, who recently won the main fight in his career.

The victory over Canelo not only made Bivol a boxing superstar, but also markedly changed the light heavyweight scene.

Until May 2022, Beterbiev, who owned two belts, was rather considered the master of the situation, and now this applies to his compatriot.

If earlier the head of Top Rank Bob Arum could afford to call Dmitry a “boring fighter” and talk about the absence of “something special” in their potential confrontation with Arthur, now he is unlikely to dare to do so.

A duel of two Russians would have become an ornament and one of the main events in the world of boxing a year ago, and now it can even claim the title of the most anticipated.

The only question is how interesting Bivol himself is.

Judging by the words of the head of Matchroom Boxing Eddie Hearn, he will defend the belt in the fall, after which he will devote himself to preparing for a rematch with Alvarez.

And although the promoter has not ruled out the possibility of organizing a unification fight before the end of 2022, this is hardly a priority.

The return fight with Saul will bring much more money to both the company and the athlete himself, so it hardly makes sense to take risks and fight with the formidable Beterbiev.

And although Bivol himself still calls the title of absolute champion his goal and talks about the desire to measure his strength with the winner of the fight between Beterbiev and Smith, his fights with Joshua Buatsi or Callum Smith seem more real.

Both are in the top 3 of the WBA rankings and are worthy opponents who can put up serious resistance to him, but not as dangerous as their compatriot.

And the defeat from Arthur will not only leave Dmitry without a title, but may also cost him a rematch with Saul.

The marketing potential of the fight will decrease markedly, as a result, Canelo's side may abandon this idea. 

Potential rivals of Beterbiev

As for Beterbiev, if he wins, he will most likely have to focus on defending titles.

And among the possible opponents, only Anthony Yarde is mentioned so far.

And although he also has knockout power, you should not put him on a par with the reigning champion.

Yes, the Briton also did a great job after the early defeat from Kovalev in 2019, but he is hardly able to impose competition on the Russian.

If you look at the rating, then the same Callum Smith and Mathieu Boderlik have a high chance of getting a fight with Beterbiev.

After losing to Canelo, the Briton decided to move up to the light heavyweight category and immediately scored a brutal knockout in the battle with Lenin Castillo.

Thanks to this, he immediately took off to the first line of the WBC rating.

At the same time, the Frenchman, although he boasts a good record (21-1) and has bronze in the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, is hardly worthy of claiming the belt.

Until now, he has never fought outside his native country, and the level of his opponents left much to be desired.

In this regard, it seems most logical to bring Beterbiev together with Gilberto Ramirez.

Over the past years, he has repeatedly expressed his readiness to compete for the trophy, however, he called Bivol as a desired opponent.

However, a high place in the WBO and IBF ratings allows him to count on a meeting with Arthur.

The lanky Mexican with 44 victories would be more than a serious test for the Russian.