Artur Beterbiev (Russia) vs Joe Smith (USA)
Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden, New York. USA
19.06.2022, 08:00
In the early morning of June 19, Russian boxer Artur Beterbiev and American Joe Smith will fight for three light-heavyweight belts at once. Today, the WBC and WBO titles belong to Beterbiev and the IBF title to Smith.
Boxing fans all over the world are looking forward to the Beterbiev vs. Bivol clash, and the fight with Smith is the last step to it. And it should be considered primarily from this standpoint. The fourth significant belt is now in the hands of Dmitry Bivol.
Claim Your Welcome Bonus!Artur Beterbiev: 17 fights, 17 wins, 17 KOs
Artur is believed to get his way only by knockout punching, but this opinion is wrong. Beterbiev has a great boxing school and amateur career, and that punch is a hell of a mix.
Beterbiev finished each of his fights early, and there's no reason to believe this will be different. Marcus Browne, for example, was a more dangerous opponent for Artur than Joe Smith but was nonetheless, and as usual, destroyed.
Whether Beterbiev wins by knockout depends on his hunger, given his style. I think Artur will come out with the same attitude. If he's in good shape, hungry for fights, then most likely, history will repeat itself. I would like to believe that the knockout series will continue. Beterbiev's punches are very unpleasant and prickly. It's like a computer game. With every punch, a part of life is taken away, and the fight ends early. Let's support our team!
Joe Smith: Loses to technical boxers
The American is 32 years old. He has 28 wins and three defeats under his belt. He suffered his last defeat in 2019 from Dmitry Bivol, defeating the Russian on points (he lost eleven out of twelve). But two years later, he again came very close to the belt and, not without difficulty, overcame Maksim Vlasov to win the vacant WBO title (two judges gave Smith the minimum victory, and the third saw a draw).
And in his last fight, Joe defended the belt against the claims of Steve Geffrard.
Joe Smith is good-looking, but a fight with Beterbiev is already a higher bar for him. He's not exactly an intermediate-level boxer, but he's obviously over the top as it is. He is inferior to the Russian in technique, power, and everything else.
Expert Betting Tips
Neither bookmakers nor experts believe in Joe Smith. He has obvious problems with boxers of championship level, but Beterbiev will be the most serious opponent of his career.
The American only has chances (if we can talk about them) in the early rounds. He must start briskly to get anything at all, trying to tire Artur out or knock him out. But it's unlikely to get both. Beterbiev is very likely to give it a couple or three rounds and then, as usual, ramp up the pace and the pressure, and then finish his opponent off, as he always does. With all due respect to Smith, he's not any stronger than Marcus Browne, let alone Oleksandr Gvozdyk.
Nothing is surprising in the bookmakers' lines this time around. Artur is a huge favorite (1.12), and the odds of an early end to the fight are very low (1.57).
- Artur Beterbiev Will Win By KO, TKO - Yes for 1.42;
- Points Decision Handicap 1 -23.5 for 1.85;
- Total Under 9.5 for 1.72.
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