I have a gut feeling that Smith will upset Beterbiev and win

Very true. Gvozdyk seemed content to try to bank rounds early.

I just can't see Smith connecting big repeatedly and (as Callum Johnson will tell you), hitting Artur with a big shot will rouse him a bit.

 

Completely agree on the Vlasov decision. Vlasov won that fight. Way too many Russians are being screwed because of "world sentiment" right now. It's not right.

 

Some things that I definitely agree with:

Absolutely true about Barrera; I had forgotten about that injury Smith suffered in round one. There's not a fighter in the world that can box 9+ rounds in that conditon without being heavily-compromised.

I felt Jesse Hart was better suited to 168 lbs. Hart did dominate Barrera nicely...which might suggest that Sullivan has gone over the hill or hint at what Smith Jr might have accomplished had he not had to deal with that jaw.

But Alvarez wasn't really throwing much in the way of punches during that fight, though. At least through the first seven rounds.

And Smith Jr looked pretty poor, at times, against Vlasov. I think even Joe hinted at a bit of embarassment about being given that decision.

I can't for the life of me see him poleaxing Beterbiev, though. More power to him if he proves me wrong, though

 

I think Vlasov was just a straightforward case of "home-cooking" (Joe is from Long Island, NY - not all far from Atlantic City). It probably would have happened regardless of the specific nationality of his opponent.

 

I like Smith, one of only a few boxers I think I'd enjoy having beers with but I think Beterbiev walks him down late and gets a stoppage.

 

Eastern Europeans have been getting shafted on decisions since the day the curtain fell.

 

Beterbiev's craft is underrated IMO. He has top 5 power in the whole sport but he isn't a one dimensional power guy like Smith. Is he as skilled as Bivol? No but I think people will be surprised at how Beterbiev outboxes Smith.

 

Smith is not very good.

 

Beterbiev is far more than being just the big puncher he is known for he also has under rated skills as well as a long top class amateur career behind him and he always comes in to a fight in top condition.Unless like already mentioned Beterbiev has aged drastically all of a sudden then this fight could well be over inside 6 rounds. Yes Smith has power no doubt and could possibly have a moment or two but he’s a straight ahead slugger which will do him no good against Beterbiev.

 

Smith has a punchers chance against anyone so it wouldn't shock me if he knocked out Beterbiev. He matches up much better with Beterbiev than he did with bivol. He's a live dog no doubt.

 

I like Joes chances. He has plenty of power and won't have trouble finding Beterbiev. This is the fight I am looking forward to the most. In the end Athur is still favored by most. I see it as a 50/50 fight.

 

Bivol doesn't definitely beat both.