That's about right, Smith has a chance if Beterbiev does what Gil Clancy once said sometimes happens to fighters: They can age overnight, and at Beterbievs age that could happen. Reflexes do go and fighters can't pull the trigger, I think that's Smith's only chance
I feel like Smith could give Beterbiev some early trouble early on before Beterbiev comes home strong and stops him late, maybe even knock him down like Callum Johnson did.
I remember when the other Callum he fought dropped Beterbiev hard. Beterbiev recovered quickly though and Johnson didn't follow up which led to the Beterbiev beat down that commenced again in that fight. I do wonder if he gets dropped like that again, 5ish years older, nearly 40, and having been through a few wars since, does he get stopped?
If only Smith would've be able to use his reach well... that would be interesting. Smith has shown tremendous power at 175, meanwhile Beterbiev has a solid chin, but not granitic. Moreover, as someone here said, one thing is Canelo and his upper body movement, another thing is Beterbiev who is always straight in front of you. I expect Beterbiev to be cautious in the first couple of round. If Smith can impose himself he could do damage with his long right hand. 35%chance.
Beterbiev is way more skilled than Smith who has weight bullied 99% of his career. However, you cannot judge or draw any conclusion for Callum’s fight against Canelo as he straight up threw that fight
I would give Smith the same sort of chance I gave Marcus Browne. Performed well and may have been ahead but Beterbiev showed that freak scary strength and caught up with Browne and stopped him. I remember watching and being concerned that the ref will stop the fight due to the amount of blood gushing from Betebiev's face. The scary thing is he still fought as if it didn't bother him and I thought the amount of blood he was losing would sap his energy and strength but it seems to have had the opposite affect.
Beterbiev by KO. Smith does not pass the eye test nor does he have a resume that indicates he can get the win. He can't fight long, he doesn't really box & move, his jab is nonexistent and he relies on his inaccurate counter left hook (which is overrated in power). Couple that with a relatively inactive career and what we've got is a half cooked fighter in Smith - that's definitely reached British, commonwealth and European level but lacks that refinement and versatility of a real world class fighter - his trainer and managers fault IMO. There's always a puncher's chance but Smith isn't really that much of a puncher. You also have to remember that Callum Johnson and Yarde are both BIG mofus built like brick houses. Smith isn't, he's coming up from 168 with an unimpressive resume. His last 2 fights were essentially against nobodies and 1/2 of them was coming up in weight, iirc. The only thing working in Smith's favour is AB's age. But, to be frank, Smith deserves to get splattered for his sad, miserable effort against Canelo. I want BLOOD!
Some people on here are delusional,they will look very silly when Smith wins.Don`t want any excuses about his age,you all know how old he is but still spout nonsense
Depends how much stronger Smith is at LHW as he hasn't been tested properly yet but looks a lot stronger.