Callum Smith entered the ring on Saturday night time hoping to do what Artur Beterbiev’s earlier 19 opponents couldn’t, defeat the Dagestani powerhouse.
The WBC, IBF and WBO gentle heavyweight champion had been out of motion for over a 12 months. Forward of his conflict with Smith, there have been ideas that ‘father time’ had lastly caught as much as Beterbiev, who will flip 39 on Jan. 21.
However ‘Mundo’ proved to be no match for the ability of the undefeated champion. While the Scouser had a number of good moments all through the struggle, the unrelenting strain and punching energy of Beterbiev overwhelmed his opponent.
The struggle was stopped within the seventh spherical following two separate knockdowns, and the Dagestani preserve his 100% end charge and moved to 20-0.
Callum Smith’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has now shared his ideas on the outcome. The Matchroom Boxing chairman heaped reward on Arter Beterbiev’s efficiency, and maintained that ‘Mundo’ put up a struggle price being pleased with.
Hearn mentioned:
“Amazing. It’s like he’s not human. Almost like an unfair advantage up against him, he’s very strong. He was hardly breathing, he’s a machine. I thought Callum probably started a little bit too slow because Beterbiev tends to start slow. And Beterbiev was quite passive tonight, because he respected Callum. And he boxed really well. And his defense was good.”
He continued:
“There were a couple of left hooks that whizzed by the nose [of Beterbiev]. And he had a good second round, Callum. And also, the sixth-round, I felt he might be finding a little bit of momentum. But the problem is, over the rounds you just accumulate punishment. And the punishment is too much.”
Watch the video beneath from 0:22:
Callum Smith displays on his loss to Artur Beterbiev
Callum Smith and Artur Beterbiev went to war in a much-anticipated clash in Saudi Arabia final night time. The pair competed for the WBC, IBF and WBO titles, and regardless of being a +300 underdog, there have been many individuals who believed that Smith would be capable of KO his opponent.
However the energy and accuracy of Beterbiev was finally the distinction, as he secured a TKO win in Spherical 7.
Smith has now shared his ideas on the defeat, saying:
“I always believed I was the best and to accept that I’m not is hard… But no, the better man won tonight. He stopped me dead in my rhythm, he’s good at just touching, touching before you get any momentum… Obviously his touching is a little bit harder.”
Hearken to Callum Smith’s feedback beneath (0:00):
