Undefeated Artur Beterbiev puts his WBO, WBC and IBF light heavyweight titles on the line against Callum Smith in a fight scheduled for January 13 in Canada. The two were originally scheduled to meet last summer but that bout was postponed when Beterbiev became ill. With all 19 of his fights won by stoppage, Beterbiev opened as the betting favorite with odds of -480, but he has fought just once in the past 18 months.
A former world and regional super middleweight champion, Smith is a formidable opponent who had to wait for his chance at glory. With the original fight date pushed back the amount of time spent out of the ring increased for Smith. He’s had just two fights since suffering his lone professional defeat at the hands of Canelo Alvarez a little over three years ago. Smith responded with early KO’s of Lenin Castillo and most recently Mathieu Bauderlique in August 2022. Smith opened with odds of +340.
Artur Beterbiev vs. Callum Smith Betting Odds
Artur Beterbiev -480
Callum Smith +340
The 12-round light heavyweight title fight between champ Artur Beterbiev ( 19-0, 19 KOs ) and Callum Smith ( 29-1, 21 KOs ) will take place on Saturday, January 13, 2024 from the Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Canada and will be streamed on DAZN.
Artur Beterbiev vs. Callum Smith Fight Preview
Having turned pro in 2013 and at the ripe age of 38, Beterbiev doesn’t have a lot of mileage on his body with just 19 fights on his resume. Legal matters helped keep him out of the ring for most of 2017 and 2018 with only one fight during a near two-year long stretch. That didn’t prevent him from pounding opponents so I don’t think the time off between his most recent fights is going to affect him. And he has a lot less wear and tear on his body than most fighters his age.
Each of Beterbiev’s fights since a second-round KO of Tavoris Cloud for the vacant NABA light heavyweight belt in 2014 have been for some kind of title, and the Russian-born boxer has met all challenges. He’s never gone the distance but came close in a 2017 fight with Enrico Kolling for the vacant IBF light heavyweight title. Outpunching his opponent 1,111 to 352, Beterbiev knocked Kolling down twice in the final round prompting a stoppage from the referee.
Not only can Beterbiev dish out punishment he’s also shown over the course of his career that he can take a few blows. In a mandatory defense of his IBF crown against Callum Johnson in 2018, Beterbiev scored a fourth round KO after hitting the canvas twice in what was one of the most aggressive fights of his career. And that’s saying something since his KO to win rate is 100 percent. His 15th win came in 2019 in a unification bout with Oleksandr Gvozdyk when Beterbiev claimed the WBC light heavyweight strap.
In a three-belt unification fight with Joe Smith Jr. in 2022, Beterbiev put on a dominant performance dropping his opponent three times in the first two rounds eventually earning a second round TKO and the WBO light heavyweight championship.
Callum Smith captured the WBA and The Ring super middleweight titles improving to 25-0 with a second round KO of George Groves in 2018. He successfully defended twice over Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam and John Ryder before losing for the first time as a pro. In his third defense Smith was beatdown by Alvarez in a dominant loss. Smith elected to move up in weight after that fight with a successful debut win over former WBA title challenger Lenin Castillo. His brutal second round KO caused his opponent to be stretchered out of the ring.
Bet Artur Beterbiev vs. Callum Smith
You can expect to see a lot of punches thrown and landed in this fight with guys who fight aggressively and aren’t afraid to get hit. With this fight already postponed once both boxers have had time to think strategy and heal their bodies. Smith is the younger of the two and is the kind of fighter that scares the champ with his power and granite chin. Beterbiev leaves himself exposed at times and Smith will look to exploit that. If he can there’s room for an upset.
Boxing Odds Pick: Callum Smith +340 / / KO
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