WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol has inked to fight IBF, WBC & WBO champion Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed championship in Saudi Arabia in April or May.
Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KOs) still needs to beat Callum Smith on Saturday, January 13th, and then sign his own deal with the Saudis. If Callum (29-1, 21 KOs) wins, his promoter, Eddie Hearn, says they’ll make a deal to fight Bivol for the four belts.
Bivol Inks the Deal, Eyes Undisputed Crown
Hearn revealed the news today to the media about Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs) signing to meet the winner of Saturday’s Beterbiev-Smith at the Centre Videotron in Quebec City.
“I think his boxing brain and his one-punch knockout power,” said Eddie Hearn to the media when asked what advantages Callum Smith has in this fight with Artur Beterbiev.
Smith is in the position to wreck the Saudi’s plans for a Beterbiev-Bivol fight by defeating Beterbiev, and taking his place.
Hearn insists that Smith has improved since his loss to Canelo Alvarez four years ago in 2020, but he looks pretty much the same; he’s just put on more size since moving up in weight to 175.
Smith has fought only twice since his loss to Canelo, defeating Lenin Castillo and Mathieu Bauderlique by knockout. His power looked good, but he’s not as far as he was when he fought Canelo, and his work rate has dropped. In Smith’s two fights at 175, he threw very punches and he was just looking for one big shot.
“At 168, he was so drained at the weight. You saw the power a few times, but at 175, you only got to look at the [Lenin] Castillo win, the [Mathieu] Bauderlique. They’re not Artur Beterbiev, but they were unconscious,” Hearn said.
Hearn Eyes Upset Potential
“If Beterbiev makes mistakes in this fight, he’ll get hit hard, and if he gets hit clean, he’ll get knocked out cold,” said Hearn. “You saw when Beterbiev fought Callum Johnson [in 2018], which is another one of our fighters a long time ago. He doesn’t punch as hard as Callum Smith. He could have finished him.
“He was out with the left hook, and he’s many, many years older now. Even the Yarde fight, which Beterbiev was brilliant in as well, those fights catch up to you. Your jaw injury and controversy. We like our position,” said Hearn about him like Callum’s spot going into the Beterbiev fight.
