WBC Special Preview: Beterbiev vs. Smith
WBC STATISTICS
WBC Light Heavyweight World Championship
January 13, 2024 / Quebec City, Quebec, Canada / Videotron Center
EYE OF THE TIGER & TOP RANK, in association with MATCHROOM BOXING, PRESENT:
ARTUR BETERBIEV (Canada)
WBC light heavyweight world champion, 5th title defense
Age: 38 / Date of birth: January 21, 1985
Montréal, Québec, Canada
Record: 19-0, 19 KOs / Total rounds: 83 / World championship fights: 8-0, 8 KOs
Height: 5’11.5” – 182cm / Reach: 73” – 185cm / Stance: Right-handed
Manager: Self-managed / Trainer: Marc Ramsay
CALLUM “Mundo” SMITH (United Kingdom)
Ranked WBC No. 1 / Mandatory Challenger at Light Heavyweight
Age: 33 / Date of birth: April 23, 1990
Liverpool, Merseyside, England, United Kingdom
Record: 29-1, 21 KOs / Total rounds: 152 / World championship fights: 3-1, 2 KOs
Height: 6’3” – 191cm / Reach: 78” – 198cm / Stance: Right-handed
Manager: Self-managed / Trainer: Buddy McGirt
WBC LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONS:
1. Harold Johnson (US) 1963
2. Willie Pastrano (US) 1963 – 1965
3. Jose Torres (P. Rico) 1965 – 1966
4. Dick Tiger (Nigeria) 1966 – 1968
5. Bob Foster (US) 1968 – 1974
6. John Conteh (GB) 1974 – 1977
7. Miguel Angel Cuello (Arg) 1977 – 1978
8. Mate Parlov (Yugoslavia) 1978
9. Marvin Johnson (US) 1978 – 1979
10. Matthew Saad Muhammad (US) 1979 – 1981
11. Dwight Muhammad Qawi (US) 1981 – 1983
12. Michael Spinks (US) 1983 – 1985
13. J.B. Williamson (US) 1985 – 1986
14. Dennis Andries (GB) 1986 – 1987
15. Thomas Hearns (US) 1987
16. Don LaLonde (CAN) 1987 – 1988
17. Ray Leonard (US) 1988
18. Dennis Andries (GB) 1989 *
19. Jeff Harding (Australia) 1989 – 1990
20. Dennis Andries (GB) 1990 – 1991 *
21. Jeff Harding (Australia) 1991 – 1994 *
22. Mike McCallum (Jamaica) 1994 – 1995
23. Fabrice Tiozzo (Fra) 1995 – 1996
24. Roy Jones Jr. (US) 1996 – 1997
25. Montell Griffin (US) 1997
26. Graciano Rocchigiani (Ger) (Int.) 1998
27. Roy Jones Jr. (US) 1997 – 2003 *
28. Antonio Tarver (US) 2003
29. Roy Jones Jr. (US) 2003 – 2004 *
30. Antonio Tarver (US) 2004 *
31. Tomasz Adamek (Poland) 2005 – 2007
32. Chad Dawson (US) 2007 – 2008
33. Adrian Diaconu (Rom/Can) 2008 – 2009
34. Jean Pascal (Haiti/Canada) 2009 – 2011
35. Chad Dawson (US) Interim 2009 – 2010 *
36. Bernard Hopkins (US) 2011 – 2012
37. Chad Dawson (US) 2012 – 2013*
38. Adonis Stevenson (Haiti/Can) 2013 – 2018
39. Oleksandr Gvozdyk (Ukraine) 2018 – 2019
40. Artur Beterbiev (Russia) 2019 –
* Regained
WBC TOP 10 LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT CHAMPIONS
1. Roy Jones Jr. (US)
2. Bernard Hopkins (US)
3. Bob Foster (US)
4. Michael Spinks (US)
5. Adonis Stevenson (Haiti/Canada)
6. Mike McCallum (Jamaica)
7. Jose Torres (Puerto Rico)
8. Dick Tiger (Nigeria)
9. Matthew Saad Muhammad (US)
10. Chad Dawson (US)
GENERAL INFORMATION ON THE LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT DIVISION IN WBC HISTORY:
32 light heavyweight world champions have been recognized by the WBC, of whom only five have regained the title: Dennis Andries (GB) two times, Jeff Harding (Australia), Roy Jones Jr. (US) two times, Antonio Tarver (US), and Chad Dawson (US) two times.
122 light heavyweight world championship fights have been held in WBC history.
Bob Foster (US) holds the record for light heavyweight world title defenses with 14.
MEMORABLE WBC LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT WORLD CHAMPIONSHIP FIGHTS:
Jan. 28, 2023 Artur Beterbiev TKO8 Anthony Yarde – London, England
June 18, 2022 Artur Beterbiev TKO2 Joe Smith Jr. – New York, New York
Dec. 17, 2021 Artur Beterbiev KO9 Marcus Browne – Montréal, Québec
Mar. 20, 2021 Artur Beterbiev TKO10 Adam Deines – Moscow, Russia
Oct. 18, 2019 Artur Beterbiev TKO10 Oleksandr Gvozdyk – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Dec. 1, 2018 Oleksandr Gvozdyk KO11 Adonis Stevenson – Québec City, Québec
May 19, 2018 Adonis Stevenson D12 Badou Jack – Toronto, Ontario
May 24, 2014 Adonis Stevenson W12 Andrzej Fonfara – Montréal, Québec
June 8, 2013 Adonis Stevenson KO1 Chad Dawson – Montréal, Québec
Apr. 28, 2012 Chad Dawson W12 Bernard Hopkins – Atlantic City, New Jersey
May 21, 2011 Bernard Hopkins W12 John Pascal – Montréal, Québec
Dec. 11, 2009 Jean Pascal W12 Adrian Diaconu – Montréal, Québec
Apr. 12, 2008 Chad Dawson W12 Glen Johnson – Tampa, Florida
May 21, 2005 Tomasz Adamek W12 Paul Briggs – Chicago, Illinois
May 15, 2004 Antonio Tarver TKO2 Roy Jones Jr. – Las Vegas, Nevada
Nov. 22, 1996 Roy Jones Jr. W12 Mike McCallum – Tampa, Florida
July 23, 1994 Mike McCallum W12 Jeff Harding – Bismarck, North Dakota
Nov. 7, 1988 Sugar Ray Leonard TKO9 Donny Lalonde – Las Vegas, Nevada
May 29, 1988 Donny Lalonde TKO5 Leslie Stewart – Port of Spain, Trinidad
Mar. 7, 1987 Thomas Hearns TKO10 Dennis Andries – Detroit, Michigan
Sep. 10, 1986 Dennis Andries TKO9 Tony Sibson – London, England
Mar. 18, 1983 Michael Spinks W15 Dwight Muhammad Qawi – Atlantic City, New Jersey
Dec. 19, 1981 Dwight Muhammad Qawi TKO10 Matthew Saad Muhammad – Atlantic City, New Jersey
Apr. 22, 1979 Matthew Saad Muhammad TKO8 Marvin Johnson – Indianapolis, Indiana
Oct. 9, 1976 John Conteh W15 Yaqui Lopez – Copenhagen, Denmark
May 24, 1968 Bob Foster KO4 Dick Tiger – New York, New York
Dec. 16, 1966 Dick Tiger W15 José Torres – New York, New York
Aug. 15, 1966 José Torres W15 Eddie Cotton – Las Vegas, Nevada
June 1, 1963 Willie Pastrano W15 Harold Johnson – Las Vegas, Nevada
The “Art” of KO
By James Blears
Ten out of ten for valiant and talented Scouser Callum Smith for taking on the challenge of undefeated “KO King” Artur Beterbiev for the Unified Light Heavyweight Crown at the Videotron Center in Quebec on January 13th.
Will he buck the trend and unlike anyone else to date, endeavor plus endure for twelve out of twelve torrid rounds, or achieve even better?
This is the question on the chapped, pursed lips and sizzling keyboards of boxing scribes and of course uppermost on the minds of the fans, who are hankering after an all- out ring war. Might they witness a wind of change, or perhaps be testament to yet another opponent blown away gale force style?!
Callum, who has only tasted defeat once at the hands of Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, valiantly going the while distance, in spite of excruciatingly suffering a detached left bicep, must strive to overcome this looming question mark? While the punctuation mark leveled by a round table of experts against the mighty thirty eight year old “King” Artur, involves advancing age, which waits for no man, coupled with an enforced layoff due to jaw surgery.
Some say ageing boxers can grow old overnight. That must be the longest night, because the fading and fraying magic tends to dawn, dissipate, and dissolve over a somewhat longer spell.
What is Callum facing? A boxer who prevails with a singular focused mindset, overcoming opponents come what may, with an all pervasive, bludgeoning lambasting style, which physically wears them down, breaks them up, pummeling them, bending and doubling them with his granite fists reinforced by his corrugated iron willpower. Up to now it’s been irresistible and numbingly effective.
Artur Asilbekovich Beterbien, of Chechen descent who was born in Khasayurt, Dagestan, resides in Quebec, Canada and is a Canadian citizen, won the IBF title in 2017, became WBC champion in 2019 and the WBO in 2022.
Artur likes to get in real close working the body like minced beef, then landing clubbing shots to the head. He has fast hands, following up time and again, but in so doing he can be exposed and he’s been knocked down twice. In a brawl with Jeff Page at the outset of his career, he was decked in round one by a clipping and precise right hand. But the rampage which then ensued, came from Artur in round two, when he returned the favor thrice to win in dramatic style.
When he fought Callum Johnson, Artur dropped him with a right cross in round one. But then he himself walked into a peach of a left hook in round two and went down heavily, beating the count and being hurt to the extent that the Referee asked him if he wanted to continue. That he did and two rounds later he closed the show with his vaunted right. He can prove vulnerable, and he can be tagged, but he’s at his most dangerous when this occurs.
One of his most spectacular fights was winning the WBC title in an undiluted slugfest with then undefeated Oleksandr Gvozkyk. In the first few rounds, Artur was getting hit hard and often, but the course of the fight radically changed when he knocked down the Ukrainian with a searing lance of a left hook in the sixth. By the ninth his unrelenting body attack had taken its toll and he was totally dominating. Then in the tenth three knockdowns with the Referee stopping the fight to save battered Oleksandr.
A cut, particularly a bad one, often gives a boxer pause for thought and sobering reflection, resorting and opting to box, in order to protect the injury. Not so after a clash of heads with southpaw Marcus Browne in a WBC mandatory defense, which left the Great one with a grated forehead resembling a gaping letter box, seeping blood everywhere. He dropped Marcus in the seventh and the ninth, beating the remaining resistance out of and from his brave but by now utterly exhausted opponent.
A stern test against hard hitting Anthony Yarde who put up a spirited resistance only to be dropped in the eighth and in that same round, Anthony’s corner decided he’ taken enough and they themselves intervened to halt the onslaught. Of late, it’s taking Artur longer to apply the finishing touches to his handiwork.
Ferocious Edwin “El inca Dinamita” Valero, another master blaster, stopped eighteen opponents in the first round and all of his twenty seven fights ended in KO victory. Edwin’s prestigious southpaw power was fuelled and stoked by inner demons which led to the death of his Wife Jennifer Vierafinol and his suicide, following his arrest.
Artur’s style is more akin to that of Rocky Marciano. Rocky was dropped by Jersey Joe Walcott via a left hook in round one of his title successful challenge, but went on KO him with the most spectacular one punch KO ever seen in a world heavyweight title fight during round thirteen. That massive right!
In his last bout wily “Old Mongoose” Archie Moore decked Rocky in round two with a perfectly timed right counter. But Rocky got up and proceeded to maul Archie to defeat in round nine. Exhausted and overwhelmed, Archie was counted out. On the way Rocky dropped him twice in the sixth and once in the eighth.
Small for a heavyweight standing just five feet ten, with only a sixty seven inches reach, one hundred and eighty four pounds Marciano made up for the physical deficits with supreme conditioning. He ran many miles in army boots, clobbered a specially made two hundred and fifty pounds heavy bag leaving it with grapefruit deep indents and he monastically isolated himself during training camp.
For this fight here and now against Arhur, Callum who stands six feet three inches tall and has a seventy eight inches reach, must use this to intelligent effect against five feet eleven and a half inches tall Artur who has a seventy three inches reach. Artur is most effectively devastating at toe to toe range, so Callum must judge it in terms of long distance, avoiding that crunching body attack from Artur who has the appearance of an Old Testament Prophet, although he wouldn’t thank me for this observation, because he’s a devout Muslim.
Callum was European super middleweight champion 2015-2018 and WBA champion 2018-2020, winning the World Boxing Super Series in 2018 and with it the Muhammad Ali Trophy. In that bout he successfully defended the WBC Diamond Belt and won the WBA Belt overwhelming George Groves in the seventh. George was unable to beat the count, after being hit with body shots, an uppercut and a cascade of follow up punches. Then, Callum had to work hard to defeat John Ryder with a close UD. It was all success before encountering Canelo.
Callum moved up to light heavyweight with a second round KO of Lenin Castillo, who was caught with a terrific right to the head and had to be stretchered out of the ring. Then Mathieu Bauderlique who he KO’d in the fourth with a poleaxing left hook. Callum has brought his power up a division. He’s dangerous with either hand.
In the theme song to the hilarious film Arthur, starring unforgettable Dudley Moore, Christopher Cross sang: “Arthur does as he pleases.” Years later this Artur certainly won’t have it all his own way.
Callum’s career credentials mean that he could be a difficult and awkward opponent with proven power. Aged thirty-three, Callum is five years younger, but has fought more often with a pro record of 30-1, 21 KO’s. He’s opponent number twenty for Artur.
Callum is fighting in Artur’s adopted homeland back yard, but is sure to bring some very vocal support from Liverpool, the roosting place of the Liver Bird. Most likely than not, his fans will be singing the Gerry and Pacemakers song: “You’ll never walk alone,” which weekly resounds around Anfield, the home ground of Liverpool FC.
But the ring…is a lonely place.
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