Artur Beterbiev vs. Joe Smith | ESPN - June 18, 2022

[margaret thatcher]

He started his career well, looked like he was being fast tracked with wins over Cloud and Campillo very early, even if they were faded. Then a whole lot of sh!t and inactivity after it, and straight back to it after the excellent win over Gvo

[Blodhemn]

Yep.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Artur Beterbiev-Joe Smith: Arum, DeGuardia Aim For Unification Showdown

If Top Rank chairman Bob Arum’s plan comes to fruition three of the four major light heavyweight world title belts will be unified in the first half of 2021.

There is a three-fight plan in place to make it happen, Arum told Boxing Scene.

The first bout will be when Artur Beterbiev, the lineal champion and owner of the IBF and WBC belts, will face Adam Deines in their rescheduled fight on Jan. 30, probably in Moscow, with the fight to air on an ESPN+. The bout has been delayed multiple times, from Oct. 23 to Dec. 11 and now to Jan. 30, in part because Beterbiev suffered a rib injury.

Step No. 2 will be a fight between Joe Smith Jr. and Maxim Vlasov for the vacant WBO world title on Feb. 13 in the main event of an ESPN card from a site to be determined.

And step No. 3 will be to match Beterbiev, if he beats huge underdog Deines, with the Smith-Vlasov winner to unify the three 175-pound belts.

Arum said Beterbiev-Deines will be Top Rank’s first event of 2021. He said Top Rank plans to move slowly at the start of the year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

“We told ESPN we want to take January off and in February, March and April we are going slowly,” Arum said to Boxing Scene.

“We are going to do one a month and maybe one of the months we do two shows and then starting in May we gear up for a full schedule because what I’m gambling on, what I’m hoping, is we have the (COVID-19) vaccine by then and whether it’s in the United States or abroad we can start doing events with spectators. Right now doing events without spectators is killing us.

“Right now I’m in a stall pattern to do as few fights as we can get away with hoping to get into some sunshine where can do spectators.”

But even with a slow start planned for 2021, Arum is looking forward to what’s in store at light heavyweight, especially if spectators are widely allowed to attend events.

“If Beterbiev wins we put him with Joe Smith if Joe Smith wins the (WBO) title,” Arum said. “That’s a big fight for Madison Square Garden (in New York). That fight would do a ton of business in Madison Square Garden.”

The WBO recently ordered a negotiation for the mandatory bout between Smith and Vlasov and said if there was no deal a purse bid would be ordered, but that won’t be necessary. Arum promotes Vlasov and co-promotes Smith with Joe DeGuardia of Star Boxing. They both told BS they have made a deal for the bout.

“The deal has already been made. It’s all done,” Arum said.

As for where it will take place Arum said it is not determined but that it likely would be in Las Vegas.

“We’re trying to break out of the bubble so we can get some spectators,” Arum said. “We’re talking to casinos to do our protocol with testing and everything and open up the (MGM) Grand Garden Arena or Caesars (Palace) or one of these places for 1,000 or 1,500 people. Joe Smith will bring in 300 people.”

DeGuardia said he and Arum worked things out quickly for the fight.

“We’re set, we just haven’t signed it yet. But we know where we are and what’s going on with the fight,” DeGuardia said. “We are ready and prepared and looking forward to it. And then if Joe wins, him and Beterbiev is a huge fight. We want the biggest fights for Joe and I think Joe, as this year has gone by, he’s become a much better fighter, developed an awful lot in the last few fights. Sky’s the limit.

“I think Joe wins the fight with Beterbiev, but he is not looking past the fight with Max. Max is strong, a Siberian tiger so to speak, and he has to take care of that first, but I’m not worried about Joe with anyone in the light heavyweight division. He really looked good this year in his wins against Jesse Hart (in January) and Eleider Alvarez (in August).”

The Smith-Vlasov fight came about when another boxer Arum promotes, Las Vegas-based Russian Umar Salamov (25-1, 19 KOs), 26, came down with COVID-19 and had to pull out of a planned semifinal title eliminator against Vlasov that was most recently planned for Nov. 20 in Minsk, Belarus.

Smith (26-3, 21 KOs), 31, from New York’s Long Island, had already won his semifinal eliminator by ninth-round knockout of former world titleholder Alvarez (25-2, 13 KOs) on Aug. 22 inside the bubble of the conference center at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas to earn his way into the world title bout.

With Salamov sidelined, the WBO ordered Smith-Vlasov for the title vacated by Canelo Alvarez. Arum said he would put Salamov on the undercard of a possible Beterbiev-Smith fight and if Salamov wins match him with the Beterbiev-Smith winner.

Montreal-based Russia native Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KOs), who turns 36 on Jan. 21, will be making his fourth title defense but has not fought since he knocked out Oleksandr Gvozdyk to unify a pair of 175-pound world titles and send him into retirement in October 2019.

Deines (19-1-1, 10 KOs), 29, a Russia native fighting out of Germany, has won two fights in a row but been idle since September 2019.

Vlasov (45-3, 26 KOs), 34, of Russia, has won three fights in a row since a one-fight move up to the cruiserweight division, where he lost a unanimous decision in an interim world title bout to Krzysztof Glowacki in November 2018 in Chicago in the quarterfinals of the World Boxing Super Series tournament.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Arum: If Joe Smith & Beterbiev Win, Sets Up A Huge Fight That'd Sell Out MSG Easy

If Joe Smith Jr. and Artur Beterbiev win their upcoming light heavyweight title fights, Bob Arum hopes to match them later this year.

Assuming fans can attend by the time a Smith-Beterbiev bout is scheduled, Arum thinks they could even sell out Madison Square Garden in New York.

“If Joe Smith wins and Beterbiev wins, that sets up a huge fight, maybe for Madison Square Garden,” Arum told Boxing Scene. “You’d sell out The Garden easy with a Smith-Beterbiev fight. That’d be a great fight. They’re both big punchers, tough guys. It’d be a fun fight.”

Smith, of Mastic, New York, and Maxim Vlasov, of Samara, Russia, are set to fight February 13 for the vacant WBO 175-pound championship. ESPN will televise the 12-round battle between Smith (26-3, 21 KOs) and Vlasov (45-3, 26 KOs) as the main event of a three-bout broadcast from a Las Vegas venue to be announced.

The 31-year-old Smith produced the most impressive performance of his career in his last fight. He dominated Colombian contender Eleider Alvarez (25-2, 13 KOs) and became the first opponent to stop the former WBO champ inside the distance, in the ninth round of their August 22 bout at MGM Grand Conference Center in Las Vegas.

The 35-year-old Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KOs) will make a mandated defense of his IBF light heavyweight crown against Germany’s Adam Deines (19-1-1, 10 KOs) in his next bout.

Beterbiev and Deines were scheduled to fight January 30 in Moscow, but Beterbiev contracted COVID-19 and it was postponed. Arum expects ESPN+ to stream that rescheduled bout at some point in March.

Beterbiev-Deines, which initially was scheduled for October 23, first was postponed because Beterbiev suffered a rib injury while training.

“Smith has another tough Russian in front of him, in Vlasov, next month,” Arum said. “If he beats him, then a Beterbiev fight with Joe Smith would be a guaranteed sellout at Madison Square Garden. Joe has a lot of fans [from Long Island], and all these union people that support him. And there are a lot of Russian people in New York. And then, as the icing on the cake, you put Berlanga on the undercard.”

Arum referred to Brooklyn’s Edgar Berlanga (16-0, 16 KOs), the emerging, hard-hitting super middleweight prospect who has knocked out each of his professional opponents in the first round.

[margaret thatcher]

this would be awesome

[DrDuke]

A good matchup, only Beter-Bivol is more interesting now at this weight. Of course, Beter-Bivol is evenly matched and Beter is favored against Smith, but Smith still can make it a fight.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Joe Smith: Beterbiev Is One-Dimensional, Lot Of Guys He Fights Aren't Even In Top 10

Joe Smith Jr. wants nothing more than the opportunity to prove himself against Artur Beterbiev later this year.

That’s the light heavyweight title unification bout Bob Arum, whose company co-promotes Smith and Beterbiev, intends to put together if Smith and Beterbiev win their upcoming 175-pound championship clashes.

“If they can make it happen, I’d definitely be looking forward to it,” Smith told Boxing Scene. “I think it’d definitely make for a great fight. You know, we’re both powerful guys. I’d say one of us is the hardest-hitting light heavyweight in the division. We can find out who’s the best if we get that chance.”

Smith (26-3, 21 KOs) must get past Russia’s Maxim Vlasov (45-3, 26 KOs) on April 10 to remain on track for the Beterbiev bout. ESPN will televise Smith-Vlasov, a 12-round fight for the vacant WBO light heavyweight crown, as the main event of a two-bout broadcast from Tulsa's Osage Casino.

This Saturday, ESPN and ESPN+ will carry Beterbiev’s obligatory title defense against Germany’s Adam Deines. The 12-round battle between Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KOs) and Deines (19-1-1, 10 KOs), the mandatory challenger for Beterbiev’s IBF title, will happen at Megasport Sport Palace in Moscow.

The 36-year-old Beterbiev’s power impresses Smith, but the Long Island native questioned the Russian knockout artist’s boxing ability and overall level of opposition.

“I think he’s pretty much a one-dimensional fighter,” Smith said. “I know he’s got the power going for him. He’s a strong guy, but I’ve never really seen him look great boxing-wise, in my opinion. He has had one fight that I really give him credit for. But the rest, it seems like a lot of the guys that he fights aren’t even top-10 guys.”

The 31-year-old Smith, of Mastic, New York, referred to Beterbiev’s 10th-round stoppage of Oleksandr Gvozdyk as the “one fight” for which he deserves credit. Beterbiev knocked down Ukraine’s Gvozdyk (17-1, 14 KOs) three times in the 10th round of their October 2019 fight in Philadelphia for Beterbiev’s IBF belt and Gvozdyk’s WBC crown.

Beterbiev’s fight with Deines has been postponed twice – first due to Beterbiev’s rib injury and then because Beterbiev contracted COVID-19. The defending champion hasn’t boxed since he knocked out Gvozdyk 16 months ago.

“I don’t even know who Adam Deines is,” Smith said. “I’ve never seen him fight before.”

[margaret thatcher]

that would be a f@cking awesome fight

imagine if joe goes from that guy ppl mocked bivol for fighting to unified champ beating bert. and it would be a good fight to help bert make up for earlier inactivity and weak opponents

[Enlightened-One]

When you consider that Beterbiev is 36 years of age, coupled with the fact he’s only fought three times within the last 3½ years (inactive for the last 18 months), it’s clear that time is running out on the Russian’s career.

Beterbiev might struggle to return to the sort of form we saw overcome the mentally-scarred Oleksandr Gvozdyk.

And whilst Beterbiev has been sat on the side-lines gathering dust, Joe Smith Jr. defeated the likes of Jesse Hart and Eleider Alvarez.

And if Joe Smith Jr. beats Maxim Vlasov next month, then that would be a phenomenal recovery from the Bivol loss.

Artur Beterbiev’s reputation is mainly based on his victories over Oleksandr Gvozdyk and Callum Johnson. These are his only notable achievements over the last five years.

In stark contrast, regardless the outcome, Joe Smith Jr’s opposition over the equivalent time period is consistently and vastly superior than the Russians’ (i.e. Dmitry Bivol, Sullivan Barrera, Jesse Hart, Andrzej Fonfara, Eleider Alvarez and Bernard Hopkins).

Common sense dictates that the version of Beterbiev that stopped Oleksandr Gvozdyk, would be heavily-favoured to score an equally late stoppage over Joe Smith Jr.

However, I rate Joe Smith Jr’s chances of scoring an upset over Artur Beterbiev as pretty high, because it’s likely that the Russian may be adversely affected by a combination of age and inactivity.

Even the most ardent Beterbiev fan couldn’t possible pretend to be nonchalant about those two rather worrying factors.

[Cent0089]

When you consider that Beterbiev is 36 years of age, coupled with the fact he’s only fought three times within the last 3½ years (inactive for the last 18 months), it’s clear that time is running out on the Russian’s career.

Beterbiev might struggle to return to the sort of form we saw overcome the mentally-scarred Oleksandr Gvozdyk.

And whilst Beterbiev has been sat on the side-lines gathering dust, Joe Smith Jr. defeated the likes of Jesse Hart and Eleider Alvarez.

And if Joe Smith Jr. beats Maxim Vlasov next month, then that would be a phenomenal recovery from the Bivol loss.

Artur Beterbiev’s reputation is mainly based on his victories over Oleksandr Gvozdyk and Callum Johnson. These are his only notable achievements over the last five years.

In stark contrast, regardless the outcome, Joe Smith Jr’s opposition over the equivalent time period is consistently and vastly superior than the Russians’ (i.e. Dmitry Bivol, Sullivan Barrera, Jesse Hart, Andrzej Fonfara, Eleider Alvarez and Bernard Hopkins).

Common sense dictates that the version of Beterbiev that stopped Oleksandr Gvozdyk, would be heavily-favoured to score an equally late stoppage over Joe Smith Jr.

However, I rate Joe Smith Jr’s chances of scoring an upset over Artur Beterbiev as pretty high, because it’s likely that the Russian may be adversely affected by a combination of age and inactivity.

Even the most ardent Beterbiev fan couldn’t possible pretend to be nonchalant about those two rather worrying factors.

If Beterbiev lose against Smith, it will be not because of his age, but because Smith punching power and Beterbiev average defense (which was solid against Gvozdyk but ive noticed lot of holes in his previous fights)

[margaret thatcher]

Ya Joe's chances getting better and better all the time in this fight

[oogiebe]

Ya Joe's chances getting better and better all the time in this fight

I still think Artur stops him.

[Jeff_lacy_ko]

Smith has a chance
Beterbiev gives you chances

[brilo33]

joe is very rangy i reckon he can spark Arthur

stand by that

[brilo33]

honestly smith has a good chance he has size long arms can punch hard can move decent now , tough as anything, i would say joe smith can take the stubby little geezer

[bobcatbox]

joe is very rangy i reckon he can spark Arthur

stand by that

That would be the coolest thing this year for real.

[DrDuke]

There's always a chance, but I don't see a lot for Smith. He's a very tough fighter, but Beter is much more classy. Bivol dealt with Smith without much problems. He's the only real threat to Beter now.

[margaret thatcher]

bivol is a totally different style, a cautious measured counter puncher with good timing and movement. beterbiev is far more there to be hit and plays to smith's own strengths better

[DrDuke]

bivol is a totally different style, a cautious measured counter puncher with good timing and movement. beterbiev is far more there to be hit and plays to smith's own strengths better

Beter was very measured against Gvozdyk. He was composed early in the rounds and he was increasing the pace in the endings of those. It was a very smart move, especially for a power puncher. He was letting Gvozdyk work, spend his energy and then was returning a favor. Gvozdyk had more tools as a boxer compared to Smith, but he wasn't able to get to Beter.

[DieHard24]

bivol is a totally different style, a cautious measured counter puncher with good timing and movement. beterbiev is far more there to be hit and plays to smith's own strengths better

Beter was very measured against Gvozdyk. He was composed early in the rounds and he was increasing the pace in the endings of those. It was a very smart move, especially for a power puncher. He was letting Gvozdyk work, spend his energy and then was returning a favor. Gvozdyk had more tools as a boxer compared to Smith, but he wasn't able to get to Beter.

Smith & Gvozdyk are very different. From the opening bell Smith is gonna make Beterbiev work and if he doesn't he'll be hit with bombs all night because Smith won't get tired and fall apart. Smith will make it a war and Beterbiev will go along. That's when it gets interesting. I think Smith has bigger 1 shot power but Beterbiev has power combined with much better technique. I think Smith has slightly better chin but with their power who the hell knows. I favor Beterbiev and i think we would realize who was gonna the fight after 2nd round.

[DieHard24]

bivol is a totally different style, a cautious measured counter puncher with good timing and movement. beterbiev is far more there to be hit and plays to smith's own strengths better

Beter was very measured against Gvozdyk. He was composed early in the rounds and he was increasing the pace in the endings of those. It was a very smart move, especially for a power puncher. He was letting Gvozdyk work, spend his energy and then was returning a favor. Gvozdyk had more tools as a boxer compared to Smith, but he wasn't able to get to Beter.

Smith & Gvozdyk are very different. From the opening bell Smith is gonna make Beterbiev work and if he doesn't he'll be hit with bombs all night because Smith won't get tired and fall apart. Smith will make it a war and Beterbiev will go along. That's when it gets interesting. I think Smith has bigger 1 shot power but Beterbiev has power combined with much better technique. I think Smith has slightly better chin but with their power who the hell knows. I favor Beterbiev and i think we would realize who was gonna win the fight after 2nd round.

[DrDuke]

bivol is a totally different style, a cautious measured counter puncher with good timing and movement. beterbiev is far more there to be hit and plays to smith's own strengths better

Beter was very measured against Gvozdyk. He was composed early in the rounds and he was increasing the pace in the endings of those. It was a very smart move, especially for a power puncher. He was letting Gvozdyk work, spend his energy and then was returning a favor. Gvozdyk had more tools as a boxer compared to Smith, but he wasn't able to get to Beter.

Smith & Gvozdyk are very different. From the opening bell Smith is gonna make Beterbiev work and if he doesn't he'll be hit with bombs all night because Smith won't get tired and fall apart. Smith will make it a war and Beterbiev will go along. That's when it gets interesting. I think Smith has bigger 1 shot power but Beterbiev has power combined with much better technique. I think Smith has slightly better chin but with their power who the hell knows. I favor Beterbiev and i think we would realize who was gonna the fight after 2nd round.

Beter's power is bigger by any means. To trade with Beter is suicidal. Beter got decked once, but probably that was more because of underestimating an opponent. He'll be composed and sharp against such guy like Smith.

[bobcatbox]

Smith’s only knockout loss came to this guy early in his career: https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/386798

He’s a tough guy. Don’t like the odds of Beter KOing him, but he might bust up Joe enough for the official to step in and waive it off. Joey’s only chance is a war. He’s got to come in and trade punches. He’ll never outbox Beter.

[DrDuke]

Smith’s only knockout loss came to this guy early in his career: https://boxrec.com/en/proboxer/386798

He’s a tough guy. Don’t like the odds of Beter KOing him, but he might bust up Joe enough for the official to step in and waive it off. Joey’s only chance is a war. He’s got to come in and trade punches. He’ll never outbox Beter.

That's right, but I can't imagine him outfighting Beter, who is damn powerful and can methodically deliver his brute force. This matchup is all wrong for Smith.

[skanksta]

Father Time and JSJ's size are banana skins for sure.
I think Artur is a bit contemptuous of most of his opposition - he showed he DOES have a defence (and some patience) against The Nail.