True he is better at this weight but you just have to love Artur's never give up attitude, the guy just never gives in & doesn't deter to the slightest, hope it's a good fight & with Beterbiev it usually is regardless of his opponent.
Drained or not Callum's effort was non existent, he was there to be there & without sounding disrespectful it was pathetic.
Unless Beterbiev is suddenly old, which i doubt, he will KO Smith. When Callum feels the power he will shell up and eventually get battered.
Yeah it was an non effort from him i agree, i'm not sure if it was combination of the occasion and being drained ? but for whatever reason he didn't turn up in that fight. I think Smith will put up a much better fight vs Beterbiev though IMO although i could be wrong.
Just holding up the only fight that matters. Arts second fight in a row against an undeserving mando, inflicted on him by these cowboy organisations. Smith’s outrageous non effort, money grab appearance against Alvarez, should in reality, disqualify him from ever “challenging,” for want of a less polite word, even an interim world title. At last we’ve got Crawford-Spence, so let’s cancel this time waster, and bring on Bivol/Beterbiev!
It’s a bad matchup because Beterbiev might actually KILL him. I’d hate to see Beterbiev live with the stress of killing an opponent. Other than that, it’s an entertaining fight as long as Smith is still upright.
Yeah he's a bad fight for him, Callum I have a sneaking suspicion is far more durable than Anthony Yarde and the far more talented boxer. Also at LHW, he clearly appears to be far more heavy handed. Clearly Beterbiev is showing his age, he was stunned several times by Yarde and was either up or down a point on the cards at the time of the stoppage. Well if he gets into a fire fight with Callum, like he did with Yarde, that might be end well for him, Callum is rangier than Yarde, gets full extension on his shots, and he's faster. Sure he struggled mightily with Ryder and Canelo, but both of them present a set of stylistic challenges that Beterbiev doesn't. First he was getting really tight at the weight, his power was faded, second they were short, compact, and not easy open targets to land on, Canelo's defense at the time was almost impenetrable, and John Ryder takes full advantage of his southpaw stance. So he could've teed off all he wanted, all it would've done is provide them more openings. Clearly the Browne, Deines and Yarde fights proved that Artur is flagging, there's not a chance they'd have made it past the 2nd or 3rd round with the Beterbiev from 2015. So if Callum pushes him back, controls the range fairly well, and throws in fast sharp long combinations, he has a chance of catching him, and putting his down like the other Callum did. Will he win, not ready to call the upset and pick Callum, but it also wouldn't shock me in the least.
I'm expecting Smith to have a better showing as well, for some of the same reasons you outlined. Of course, I also thought Duran would eventually get to Hearns' body, so what the hell do I know.
Smith will get man handled. Once he taste the power he will be fighting like he did in the Canelo fight.
Isn't Callun Smith that fella who fought like a scared kitten against Canelo? Is he a "bad fight" for anyone really? Should be easy work.