IBF/WBC light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (17-0, 17 KOs) and WBO champion Joe Smith Jr. (28-3, 22 KOs) are negotiating a unification deal for the summer in New York, according to ESPN.
However, there’s a small hurdle that needs to be surpassed before the Beterbiev vs. Smith fight can get made. Smith Jr. has been offered $1.5 million from his promoters at Star Boxing, and he’s asking for $1.8 million.
If the fight gets made, the famous Top Rank promoted two-time Russian Olympian Beterbiev and Smith Jr. will meet in the summer in New York. There’s no word where in New York the fight will be staged, but it’ll likely take at Madison Square Garden.
There will be a lot on the line for the two 175-lb champions, as Canelo Alvarez could choose to move up to the weight class in an attempt to become the undisputed light heavyweight champion.
If Canelo can beat the Beterbiev-Smith winner, he’ll win three titles and only require the WBA belt held by champion Dmitry Bivol to become a two-division undisputed champion.
The money that Beterbiev and Smith Jr. can make fighting Canelo would be huge, which is why it’s vital for these fighters not to lose their summer unification fight.
Beterbiev, 36, is seen by many boxing fans as the best fighter in the 175-lb division, and he’s held that position for the last five years.
Interestingly, when Canelo moved up to light heavyweight in 2019, he chose Sergey Kovalev to fight to become a four-division world champion rather than Beterbiev.
That move by Canelo was the highest form of respect that he could show Beterbiev because if he thought he could beat Artur, he would have chosen him to win two world titles and enjoy the bragging rights having beaten the best fighter in the 175lb division.
Beterbiev’s recent wins:
- Marcus Browne
- Adam Deines
- Radivoje Kalajdzic
- Callum Johnson
- Oleksandr Gvozdyk
In Beterbiev’s last fight in December, he stopped his WBC mandatory Marcus Browne in the ninth round in Montreal. Both fighters were cut from a clash of heads in the fourth round. Browne made it tough with his movement and physical play.
Beterbiev fought like a man possessed in response to being head-butted, attacking Browne relentlessly and wearing him down until scoring a stoppage in the ninth.
Smith has looked powerful recently with four consecutive wins over Steve Geffrard, Maxim Vlasov, Eleider Alvarez, and Jesse Hart.
Before that recent string of victories, Smith Jr. lost to Dmitry Bivol by a 12 round unanimous decision in 2019.
Sources: Artur Beterbiev and Joe Smith Jr., are closing in on a deal for a light heavyweight title unification this summer in New York on ESPN. Hold-up is on the Smith side. Star Boxing offered him approximately $1.5 million but he’s looking for around $1.8M. ESPN story coming
— Mike Coppinger (@MikeCoppinger) January 31, 2022
