Artur Beterbiev destroyed Callum Smith in seven brutal rounds
Smash & Grab: Unified light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (20-0, 20KO) completely obliterated Liverpool's Callum Smith (29-3, 21KO) in seven ruthless rounds in Canada on January 13.
Former super-middleweight champion "Mundo" won the WBSS tournament in 2018, stopping George Groves in the final, so he is performed and triumphed at the very top level, so he was expected to give the defending champion a big test, with a large number tiping him to pull off the upset over the smaller, older Russian fighter, but it was a totally different story.
Hear the reactions below from many professionals in the boxing world:
Eddie HearnMatchroom Boxing Promoter
"You're fighting a guy that's not human; you know, he's not breathing. Every shot hurts, even in the clinches you see how strong he is. I'm not sure I've seen anything like it before. It's like it's not right, it's an unfair advantage.
"Great fight, I thought Beterbiev was good defensively tonight. He was a lot more switched on and sharp. Because I think knew about the power of Callum Smith.
"Callum had a good second round; even in the sixth round I thought he just… Callum was making a small dent. but the problem is, as I said earlier, you can't take the hammer off Beterbiev, you can't continually take punishment, and even at tims where I though 'aw Callum might just be starting to find his way, he comes back with four or five. It only takes four or five around the side of the head, wherever they are, they hurt. And, yeah, it was a good performance from Beterbiev."
Timothy Bradley Jr.Former World Champion
"Looked like he was working on things. It was too easy. Too easy, man.
"World-class opposition, he just makes it look easy. He didn't take any damage at all. You would expect from a taller fighter like that, a former world champion, that he would be able to give a little more, but again, I always tell these guys you gotta stay active. Stay active, take less money, just so you can stay active, so you can be sharp, so when opportunies come like this, you ready for them. 17 months out of the ring? Come on, man.
"Artur Beterbiev, that's a real opponent, he's a real champion. He's disciplined, devoted. Devoted to his religion, Muslim. He don't drink, he don't smoke. He takes care of himself. He don't put no drugs into his body. When you preserve your body like that, yo can last long in this sport."
Tim RicksonBBN Editor
"I think I can be forgiven for predicting the fight would go a bit differently. I thought Smith would lose a close points decision, where I expected him to start brightly to get an early lead, then gradually be broken down by the power and pressure from AB in the later rounds. It was also Yarde's performance that everyone used as a measuring stick, because Smith is bigger and better, so it was natural to think he could last longer in the ring with him. I also drew comparisons with the Canelo fight, thinking that Smith has that experience now of being hunted down, pressured and outpunched, which he endured until the final bell, so I thought he would have the know-how to be able to do it again. With his superior reach and height, coupled with his power and skill, I expected Mundo to excel in the first half of the fight, but he was instead outclassed from the very first second.
"There's just no keeping him away though, is there? His punches look so solid and painful, and he doesn't even look like he's putting his all into it. The man is made of stone. Watching his opponents' head shuddering with every blow that lands is almost frightening. Even in the holds, he's landing shots that look and sound so powerful. 20 wins, 20 KOs – the man is a machine!
"Smith can't be ashamed, he had every ambition and faith in himself to get the win, but you just don't know how good someone is until you get in the ring with them. And last night, I would go as far as saying that Beterbiev was unbeatable. Eddie Hearn said after the fight that, "He's not human", which is so true, he's built from something different than all us other men. He's been carved from solid rock. Then Beterbiev himself described his performance as, "Cruise control"! I hate to say it but he's right, he didn't look like he even got out of third gear last night.
"I have always picked Bivol to beat Beterbiev as someone who is the best in the world at range and judging distance, he keeps it long, but now I'm having to rethink that because I don't believe any boxer in the world is going to be able to keep Beterbiev away."
Montero on BoxingBoxing Writer
"Beterbiev consistently punches through the target, more than any other fighter in the world today. He’s a modern day Russian-Canadian Rocky Marciano.
"Dmitry Bivol has to be next; Grandpa Bob needs to call His Excellency and get it done."