Artur Beterbiev vs. Joe Smith Jr: Preview, Where to watch, and betting odds

An explosive boxing match is shaping up at the Madison Square Garden Theatre between the best-ranked fighters at 175-pounds, Russian-Canadian Artur Beterbiev, and American Joe Smith Jr. The two fighters have an excellent resume, powerful punches, and love to fight on the front foot. The fight will be won by the fighter who can most likely take the other's punches as they are both knockout experts. Due to sanctions against Russia, Beterbiev will be fighting as a Canadian since he holds a Canadian passport and has lived there for over ten years.

Location: Madison Square Garden Theatre

Date: 19.06.2022, 03:00

Where to Watch: ESPN/ESPN+

Ranked as the best active Light Heavyweight by The Ring magazine, Beterbiev is a 37-year-old Russian veteran who spent many years in the amateur ranks before turning professional. He won gold at the 2009 World Championships, silver at the 2007 edition, and gold at the 2006 and 2010 European championships. At the 2012 Olympics, he lost in the quarter-finals of the heavyweight division to Oleksandr Usyk. An excellent puncher, the Russian has 17 fights and 17 knockouts since going professional.

He became the IBF light heavyweight champion after stopping Enrico Koelling via a 12th-round KO.

Beterbiev vs. Smith " looks like a really good fight as they both seem to like to engage. The fight will be competitive as long as it lasts. Smith's jab will give Beterbiev a bit of a problem at the beginning, but once Beterbiev overcomes it, he'll break down Smith little by little. I think Beterbiev will stop Smith in the second half of the fight. Beterbiev is getting older and is slowing down a bit, but in this fight, I think he will have enough of what it takes to beat Smith by late stoppage.

Rudy Hernandez

• Age: 37
• Weight: Light Heavyweight
• Height: 5’ 11’’ (182cm)
• Reach: 73.0” (185cm)
• Total fights: 17
• Record: 17-0-0

American Joe Smith Jr, ranked No. 3 by The Ring, became the World WBO light heavyweight champion in 2020 when he defeated Maxim Vlasov via a majority decision to win the vacant title. But his most famous win was against multiple-weight title winner Bernard Hopkins in 2016. The American knocked Hopkins out of the ring and defeated the veteran in his final fight before retirement. The 8th-round upset made Smith the first boxer to stop Hopkins inside the distance. His speed and power surprised Hopkins, who claimed that Smith had pushed him out of the ring after the fight. Analysis of the footage proved the claim wrong.

After setbacks against Sullivan Barrera and Dmitry Bivol, Smith rebounded to claim the vacant WBO title, which he successfully defended once with a 9th round KO of Steve Gefferd last January. He has 22 knockouts from 31 fights.

• Age: 32
• Weight: Light Heavyweight
• Height: 6’ 0’’ (183cm)
• Reach: 76” (193cm)
• Total fights: 31
• Record: 28-3-0

The oddsmakers have installed Artur Beterbiev as the overwhelming favorite to win at 1.12 odds. A win for Smith Jr. is priced at 5.50 odds, and the draw goes for 18 odds.

Fight to go over 7.5 is priced at 1.71 odds.

Fight to go over 2.5 is priced at 2.11 odds.

W1 by KO, TKO or DQ is at 1.38 odds

Odds are from 1Xbet, 22Bet, and Bet365. Check them for more options on the exciting fight.