Artur Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) held onto his IBF/WBC/WBO light heavyweight titles with a seventh round technical knockout win over Callum Johnson (29-2, 21 KOs) on Saturday night in Quebec City.
In the seventh round, Beterbiev caught Smith with a crushing right hand that shook him to his boots, taking his legs away.
Beterbiev jumped on the hurt 33-year-old Smith, nailing him with several thudding punches to the head to drop him. Smith, looking badly hurt, stayed down to the count of seven before getting back to his feet.
From the sight of Smith, it was clear that he was not going to be able to make it out of the round. He could have tried to clinch Beterbiev, but he didn’t opt to do that.
Beterbiev then went for the finish, landing two more clean shots that dropped Smith again. Buddy McGirt, the trainer for Smith, came into the ring to tell the referee to halt the fight. The official time of the stoppage was at 2:00 of round seven.
Bernardo Osuna: “Artur, what did it mean to you to do this tonight in the snow? All these fans came out to see you.”
Arter Beterbiev: “Again, because of luck. My coach and my team are working hard with me. Maybe that’s why, too, but I think it’s because of luck.”
Osuna: “I doubt it’s luck because you have over 300 amateur fights and now 20 wins. What was your strategy today against the tall, long Callum Smith?”
Beterbiev: “We had a couple of strategies. Not only one. You have to be prepared for several strategies, and he gave me a good fight. He stayed strong, good. Thank you for him, but today, luck is on my side.”
Osuna: “Well, luck and power obviously. He’s a fighter who had never been knocked down as a pro. You did it twice in this finish. What was the key to finally breaking him down?”
Beterbiev: “I don’t know. This question is for my team, my coach. They work on me. They know that. I don’t know. I just follow them.”
Osuna: “What we do know is Dmitry Bivol holds the only other belt at 175 lbs. Is that the fight that you want next?”
Beterbiev: “Yes, of course. I need another fourth belt.”
Osuna: “What would becoming undisputed champion mean to Artur Beterbiev?”
Beterbiev: “It would mean in this category, I have done work. Undisputed world champion, it means top.”
Osuna: “Well, congratulations on the win. Bob [Arum], the question for you is Dmitry Bivol – Artur Beterbiev for undisputed. Is it done?”
Bob Arum: “No, it’s not done yet done, but absolutely, we want to do it. I’ll be talking to my friend, His Excellency. I know he wants to do it, but Ramadan is coming. Ramadan ends sometime in the middle of April. So, about three months after the end of Ramadan, we’ll be ready to fight Bivol, probably in Riyadh.”
