Artur Beterbiev defends his unified light-heavyweight titles against Callum Smith tonight, as the pair clash in Quebec City.
Beterbiev has a stunning record of 19-0 with 19 knockouts, while Smith’s sole pro loss came against Saul “Canelo Alvarez” in 2020. It was revealed this week that Russian Beterbiev, who fights out of Canada, has signed to fight compatriot Dmitry Bivol in Saudi Arabia this year, but that unification bout is dependent on the 38-year-old beating Smith tonight.
Smith (29-1, 21 KOs) is a former super-middleweight world champion, and the Liverpudlian’s power has carried since he moved up in weight in 2021. This evening, the 33-year-old will test that power against one of the hardest hitters in boxing.
The bout is going ahead after this week’s revelation that Beterbiev returned an ‘atypical’ drug-test result in December, with the Russian having since been cleared to fight after testing negative. Had Beterbiev returned an ‘adverse’ test result, the fight might have been under threat. Per a report by Kevin Iole: “Beterbiev had received atypical findings for human growth hormone (HGH) and 5D-androstanediol. Both occur naturally in the body.”
Follow live updates and results from Beterbiev vs Smith and the undercard fights, below.
