British boxer Callum Smith tonight has the chance to become a unified light-heavyweight world champion when facing off against Artur Beterbiev in a hugely-anticipated fight in Canada.
The Liverpudlian was WBA champion at super-middleweight until he lost that belt when beaten on points by Canelo Alvarez in December 2020, with Smith then making the decision to move up to 175lbs.
He has fought just twice in three years since that defeat to Canelo, picking up routine stoppage wins over Lenin Castillo and Mathieu Bauderlique, and he now faces a big step up against the unbeaten Beterbiev, one of the most feared punchers in boxing.
The 38-year-old is 19-0 as a professional, with all those wins coming inside the distance, and he was last in action a year ago when beating Anthony Yarde in London to defend his WBC, IBF, and WBO straps.
Yarde did cause him problems though, before his corner threw in the towel in the eighth round, while fellow Briton Callum Johnson dropped Beterbiev during an action-packed four rounds in 2018.
This fight was scheduled to take place in August last year, but it was pushed back after Beterbiev underwent surgery to treat a bone infection in his jaw.
Smith's only defeat has come to Canelo and his team are confident they can stun an ageing Beterbiev, with the winner of this fight potentially then moving on to an undisputed showdown with Dmitry Bivol.
Beterbiev vs Smith date, start time, venue and ring walks
Beterbiev vs Smith takes place on Saturday January 13, 2024 at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Canada.ย
The undercard is expected to get underway at approximately 12am GMT, with the ring walks for the main event pencilled in for around 4am on Sunday morning.
As ever, those timings are all approximate and subject to change.
Beterbiev vs Smith fight card/undercard in full
Artur Beterbiev vs Callum Smith
Jason Moloney vs Saul Sanchez
Christian Mbilli vs Rohan Murdock
Imam Khataev vs Rodolfo Gomez Jr
Christopher Guerrero vs Sergio Garcia Herrera
Mehmet Unal vs Dragan Lepei
Leila Beaudoin vs Elizabeth Chavez Espinoza
Moreno Fendero vs Victor Hugo Flores
Wilkens Mathieu vs Jose Arias Alvarez
๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐! ๐ค
โ Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) January 12, 2024
It's nearly time ๐ฅ#BeterbievSmith | Sunday, 1am pic.twitter.com/r74nvT2i5R
How to watch Beterbiev vs Smith
TV channel:ย In the UK, the card will be televised live on Sky Sports Main Event and Arena, with coverage beginning at 1am GMT in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Live stream:ย Subscribers can also catch the action live online via the Sky Go app.
Beterbiev vs Smith fight prediction
Smith always looked tight at 168lbs and the move up to light-heavyweight appears to be a good one for him, though this is a world away from his previous two fights at the weight.
There are questions for Beterbiev to answer though - he was seriously tested by Yarde and it has inevitably been suggested that he is slowing down. He turns 39 later this month and has plenty of miles on the clock, with more than 300 fights to his name if you include his amateur career.
Beterbiev is certainly not defensively flawless either and he will leave himself open to be hit, as Yarde and Johnson have shown, so it is no surprise that Smith and his team believe they will get opportunities to hurt the champion.
Smith has the size and reach advantage, and will need to establish his jab early to stop Beterbiev marching forward. He may well be up on the cards if he can extend the fight beyond the halfway point, but Beterbiev's pressure will surely tell at some point.
Smith is incredibly tough and is capable of hurting his man and threatening an upset, but fighting Beterbiev is an exhausting task, with no fighter yet able to solve the puzzle.
We're going for the champion to eventually overwhelm Smith after some hairy moments, finding another stoppage as the bout moves into the late rounds.
Beterbiev by stoppage, round nine.
Beterbiev vs Smith weigh-in results
The fighters took to the scales on Friday, with both making the weight. Smith came in at 174.6lbs, with Beterbiev bang on the 175lbs limit.
Beterbiev vs Smith betting odds
Beterbiev to win: 1/5
Smith to win: 7/2
Draw: 15/1
Beterbiev to win by decision/technical decision: 11/2
Beterbiev to win by KO, TKO or DQ: 4/9
Smith to win by decision/technical decision: 9/1
Smith to win by KO, TKO or DQ: 6/1
