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

[margaret thatcher]

f@ck ya bert vs smoking joe, unification baby, bombs away

[gregregegg]

Lives in Quebec... Ever heard his french?

I already checked. He admitted he didn't speak French, even though one of his friends/gym stablemates is Georges St-Pierre.

Fair enough. But explains his lack of English. If your surrounded by French.

And the insentive to pick up French is definately less than English.

I'm sure he has enough of one of them to get by, that's not much nowhere near enough to do interviews, but enough to buy some milk...

[Enlightened-One]

Lives in Quebec... Ever heard his french?

I already checked. He admitted he didn't speak French, even though one of his friends/gym stablemates is Georges St-Pierre.

Fair enough. But explains his lack of English. If your surrounded by French.

And the insentive to pick up French is definately less than English.

I'm sure he has enough of one of them to get by, that's not much nowhere near enough to do interviews, but enough to buy some milk...

But haven’t you missed the point?

If you live somewhere for fifteen years, surely you’d make an effort to learn the local lingo?

You’re saying that it unsurprising that Beterbiev hasn’t learned English, because he lives in Quebec, but he hasn’t learned any French whatsoever.

And let’s not forget, we’re talking about fifteen years, not fifteen months.

I don’t know, I just think it’s weird to permanently reside in a geographical location without bothering to competently learn the local lingo.

[margaret thatcher]

i saw him do an interview in english during the rivas vs rozicki card.........obviously it wasnt great but he seemed to understand all the questions and gave suitable russian guy answers..

it can be hard to learn a language when you start in your late 20s/30s. maybe he dont give a sh!t, that could be if he's only there to train for fights and intends to leave when he retires. or maybe he just aint that good with languages.

[Enlightened-One]

i saw him do an interview in english..........it can be hard to learn a language when you start in your 20s/30s. maybe he dont give a sh!t, or maybe he just aint that good with languages.

I suspect you’re right.

He probably felt he was wealthy enough to refrain from learning a second language to any significant degree (other than of course communicating the basics).

Fifteen years without a social life with the locals though.

[apollo creed]

I think Joe is very motivated for this fight.

[Ruthless-RKO]

I think Joe is very motivated for this fight.

You seen some videos?

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Ruthless-RKO]

[Ruthless-RKO]

[margaret thatcher]

prospects will probably all be in mismatches, but ramirez vs nova is a good one

pumped for this

[Cent0089]

Wow im not sure who will be favorite in Ramirez - Nova ....finally undercard worth watching Hopefully oponents for other prospects will not be total corpses

[Ruthless-RKO]

Press Release

Three belts and light heavyweight supremacy will be at stake when WBC/IBF world champion Artur Beterbiev meets WBO champion Joe Smith Jr. in a highly anticipated unification showdown Saturday, June 18, at Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden.

Beterbiev, boxing’s only world champion with a 100 percent knockout rate, hopes to pick up another strap against “Cinderella Man” Smith, a Long Island native who grew up about 70 miles from Madison Square Garden.

In the 10-round featherweight co-feature, two-time Cuban Olympic gold medalist Robeisy “El Tren” Ramirez will battle the unbeaten Abraham “El Super” Nova. Beterbiev-Smith and Ramirez-Nova will be broadcast live on ESPN, ESPN Deportes and ESPN+ at 10 p.m. ET/7 p.m. PT.

Promoted by Top Rank, in association with Joe DeGuardia’s Star Boxing, tickets starting at $56 go on sale Friday, May 6 at 12 p.m. ET, and can be purchased by visiting Ticketmaster.com or MSG.com.

“Beterbiev versus Smith is one of the very best fights that can be made in boxing, two huge punchers fighting at Madison Square Garden in what will be an electric atmosphere. Whoever comes out on top will be the true king of the light heavyweight division,” said Top Rank chairman Bob Arum. “Robeisy Ramirez has developed into a sensational pro, and he will have his hands full against a tough, undefeated kid in Abraham Nova. The winner will be in line to fight for a featherweight world title."

"I am thrilled we were able to put this sensational championship unification fight together,” said Joe DeGuardia, President of Star Boxing. “The top two punchers in boxing fighting each other for their three world titles. It has been brewing for a long time and is a potential fight of the year. Joe Smith Jr. is proud of his humble background and hard-working union 'Common Man' moniker, but he is also truly special and a real champ. He could have chosen an easier path, but he wanted the best and toughest out there, the guy everyone is afraid to fight. Credit to both champions, each fighting the toughest, hardest-punching and most dangerous foe the division has. I can't wait to see this fight!"

Beterbiev (17-0, 17 KOs), a two-time Russian Olympian, has spent his nine-year pro career based in Montreal, Canada. He has been a world champion since knocking out Enrico Koelling for the IBF strap in November 2017. He's won five title fights inside the distance since then, including an off-the-deck victory over Callum Johnson and a title unification classic versus Oleksandr Gvozdyk in 2019. Beterbiev went 2-0 in 2021, capping the year with December’s brutal ninth-round stoppage over longtime contender Marcus Browne.

“I look forward to the challenge ahead of me. Joe Smith Jr. is a worthy champion, but I am coming to Madison Square Garden to add another world title to my collection,” Beterbiev said. “This fight will get me one step closer to becoming undisputed champion.”

Smith (28-3, 22 KOs) earned mainstream recognition with his 2016 knockout of living legend Bernard Hopkins and scored standout wins over Jesse Hart and Eleider Alvarez in 2020. In his second world title attempt, he outlasted Maxim Vlasov in a 2021 Fight of the Year Contender. Smith successfully defend his world title in January with a ninth-round stoppage over late replacement Steve Geffrard.

Smith said, "I am extremely excited and focused on this task I have ahead. Facing Beterbiev is huge. It is going to be a fight that fans remember forever, with two of the biggest punches in boxing today facing off. This opportunity is a dream of mine to accomplish. Fighting with three titles on the line is one step closer to becoming undisputed."

Ramirez (9-1, 5 KOs) has been on a sterling run since a shocking loss in his August 2019 professional debut. An Olympic champion in 2012 and 2016, Ramirez is coming off one-sided victories over the unbeaten Orlando Gonzalez and Irish veteran Eric Donovan. Nova (21-0, 15 KOs), who spent much of his career at junior lightweight, has been flawless since moving up to the featherweight ranks. Born in Puerto Rico and raised in Albany, New York, Nova knocked out William Encarnacion in eight rounds on the Smith-Geffrard undercard in January.

Ramirez said, “I have always wanted to display my talent on a stage as important as the iconic Madison Square Garden in New York City. Come June 18, I will not only take advantage of this big opportunity, but I will also hand Nova the first loss of his career. I’m going to take a big leap in my quest to become world champion, and above all, showcase my class and give boxing fans another great performance. I will make clear that ‘El Tren’ is a true powerhouse in the featherweight division.”

Nova said, “Robeisy is a great talent, and he’s the fighter that will get me to that next level. I need a statement victory. Beating a two-time gold medalist puts me right in the title picture. The better the competition, the better I look. Nobody has seen the best of me yet, and I will show that on June 18.”

The undercard, which will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+, is scheduled to feature many of the sport’s rising superstars. In six-round bouts, Brooklyn-born featherweight puncher Bruce “Shu Shu” Carrington (3-0, 2 KOs) and Long Island welterweight Jahi Tucker (7-0, 4 KOs) hope to extend their unbeaten records. U.S. Olympian Troy Isley (5-0, 3 KOs), fresh off his knockout win on the Oscar Valdez-Shakur Stevenson undercard, returns in a six-round middleweight bout. Featherweight Kurt Walker (2-0, 1 KO) and junior middleweight Kieran Molloy (1-0, 1 KO), both of whom starred for the Irish national team as amateurs, will make their respective U.S. debuts.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Top Rank is up there. After all these years, still putting on these cards at the highest level.

[Cent0089]

Btw am i only one who think Beterbiev win over Browne is underrated ? He fought 5 rounds with a MASSIVE bleeding and just went total savage with a beatdown of Browne. Cannot wait for this. Joe is also not coming to play a games

[margaret thatcher]

it showed a good reaction to adversity. nasty cut made him fight even harder. compare that to something like hughie fury completely shutting down with a cut vs pulev. there's guys that will get cut and start feeliing sorry for themselves, not bert though

[Enlightened-One]

Btw am i only one who think Beterbiev win over Browne is underrated ? He fought 5 rounds with a MASSIVE bleeding and just went total savage with a beatdown of Browne.

On one hand, you’re absolutely correct… Beterbiev showed an impressive amount of true grit to overcome adversity and score the stoppage.

But on the other, Beterbiev started very slowly and was losing rounds against Browne. He needed the terrible cut to wake him up, turn things around, compelling him to have a real sense of urgency.

The Russian underperformed for the first two or three rounds and probably would have stopped Marcus Browne earlier if he was mentally “up” for that fight and aggressive from the get-go.

I don’t want to appear hypercritical, because Beterbiev’s win over Browne was one of the very best of his entire career, but I simply can’t deny the fact he appeared to make a needlessly slow start in that bout.

In my mind, Beterbiev's last two performances strongly suggests he's on the decline. He's still very decent, but less dominant and more beatable.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Doesn’t Beter always start slow ?

[Enlightened-One]

Doesn’t Beter always start slow ?

He didn't start slow against Oleksandr Gvozdyk and Jeff Page Jr.

And 65% of his bouts have ended prior to the completion of the fourth round.

[apollo creed]

Arthur had some ring rust and of course he is 37 y/o, so not a spring chicken anymore.

[Cent0089]

Btw both guys are HUGE , will be over 190 pounds in the ring

[margaret thatcher]

well, im a big joe smith fan, but now i hope bert wins this so we have a fresh undisputed fight rather than smith-bivol 2

[DrDuke]

well, im a big joe smith fan, but now i hope bert wins this so we have a fresh undisputed fight rather than smith-bivol 2

Some easy hoping, Beter will do it.

Bivol vs Beter is a hot matchup.

[Ruthless-RKO]

well, im a big joe smith fan, but now i hope bert wins this so we have a fresh undisputed fight rather than smith-bivol 2

I know how hard that was for you type.

You a pro Joe from the get go. Respect!

[margaret thatcher]

if bert can take some hope from tonight's fight, id say it is that bivol was easiest to hit with the uppercut, which is probably bert's best shot