Callum Smith must take IBF, WBA & WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev into the trenches to defeat him on Saturday night on January 13th, says boxing expert Gareth A. Davies for their scheduled twelve-round war on ESPN at the Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Canada.
Gareth feels that Smith (29-1, 21 KOs) must use educated pressure and precise punching to wear down the unbeaten Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KOs) while at the same time avoiding his vicious power shots, particularly the body shots that he’ll be throwing.
Trench Warfare in the Later Rounds
Davies expects it to be a lot of shots landed by both fighters, with the going into the later rounds. He believes the outcome of the fight will be decided in the last quarter of the contest, because he thinks Beterbiev will wait until then to turn his offense on full, looking to score a late knockout.
“You can see this going twelve rounds, but I do see this going into the trenches in the last third of the fight. That’s where I see it won and lost because I feel Beterbiev does up the gears and go on full attack,” said expert Gareth A. Davies to talkSPORT Boxing about Saturday night’s fight between IBF/WBC/WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and Callum ‘Mundo’ Smith.
Smith will need to start fast because he can’t let Beterbiev dominate the early action and set a tempo for how the remainder of the contest occurs.
With Beterbiev’s power, Smith won’t last if he covers up with his turtle defense like he did in his fights against Canelo Alvarez and John Ryder. Beterbiev will unload with everything but the kitchen sink if Smith covers up like he did in those fights.
The Body Shot Factor
“Callum has a great jab, a huge right hand, and great levers on the inside. So, he’s got the armory to do it, but what I worry about is bodyshots in this fight from Beterbiev late in the fight If Beterbiev suddenly begins to target the body.
“He’ll be 39 later this month, Beterbiev. That plays a factor. one of the things about him. We know that he’s absolutely brilliant. The other thing about him is all fights by stoppages. He’s never been twelve rounds, so it’s understandable why Beterbiev is the favorite in this fight,” said Gareth.
