Artur Beterbiev v Callum Smith Preview

In one of the most eagerly anticipated fights of the year, Russian-Canadian Artur Beterbiev is set to defend the unified light-heavyweight titles against Liverpool’s Callum Smith in Quebec, Canada on Saturday.

We preview the fight below.

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Beterbiev determined to retain his belts

Since his debut in 2013, Artur Beterbiev has become the unified light heavyweight champion with three current titles to his name. He has held the IBF title since 2017, the WBC title since 2019 and most recently the WBO title since 2022 in his fight against Joe Smith Jr.

Amongst many strong attributes, Beterbiev is known for his immense punching power, having won all of his professional fights by knockout. That’s 19 knockouts from 19 fights. He’s 1/4 to win the bout this weekend, 1/2 to do so by KO, TKO or DQ. Beterbiev has been fending off contenders for the belts, his most recent victim being the Briton Anthony Yarde, who he managed to deny any chance of becoming champion.

Liverpudlian Callum Smith has his eyes on the prize and, despite the initial bout being scheduled for August and not going ahead due to Beterbiev’s jaw infection, this time the fight is well and truly on. Smith has previously held the WBA and Ring magazine super middleweight titles but suffered his first loss of his career being humbled by Canelo Alvarez in December of 2020. Since then, the Brit has fought twice, both times with success, and now has his sights set on Beterbiev’s gleaming belt collection. Despite having only lost once in his career, Smith is nowhere near as short as Beterbiev at 3/1 to take home the titles, and 7/1 to win by KO, TKO or DQ.

Can Smith’s change in trainer lead to success in Quebec?

Following the first defeat of his lengthy career to Canelo, Callum Smith has since changed his trainer to Buddy McGirt and has clearly put in a lot of work behind closed doors considered he’s fought twice in two years, which is far more inactive than he was previously. This should work in his favour however, as the refreshing perspective of a new trainer has clearly put the Brit through his paces as he searches for his third consecutive win as part of this new partnership.

Having spent the best part of 17 months in the gym, Smith won’t be afraid to tarnish Beterbiev’s spotless record despite being the underdog in this bout. The only worries should come from the fact that Beterbiev has put everything on the line for this fight and has everything to lose, which, as we’ve seen before, can bring out a real beast when it comes to fight night. On the other hand, for Smith this is the opportunity of a lifetime with regards to his career and creating a legacy, so naturally we will see this either make or break the fighter on the weekend.

There is a knockout brewing and William Hill has it at 3/10 for the fight not to go the distance. Given we know both fighters pack a powerful punch, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Artur Beterbiev will be caught by Smith and knocked down before going on to win the fight (5/1). With regards to when the fight will end, rounds seven and eight are the mostly likely for the bout to be decided (13/2) as the fighters battle exhaustion and start to slug away for the final blow.