NEW YORK – Bob Arum assumes Artur Beterbiev and Joe Smith Jr. will be respectful of each other’s power early in their light heavyweight title unification fight Saturday night.
The 90-year-old promoter expects that caution to last all of “a round or two.” Then he anticipates the two hard-hitting 175-pound champions to engage in entertaining exchanges that’ll lead to one of the more memorable light heavyweight fights in recent history.
Arum told a group of reporters after a press conference Thursday at Madison Square Garden there’s “no way” their 12-round bout will go the distance.
“Joe Smith is a tremendous fighter, has a big, big heart, a lot of skills, and a lot of punching power,” Arum, whose company co-promotes Beterbiev and Smith, said during the press conference. “And what can I say about Artur Beterbiev? I mean, he really epitomizes the ferocity that light heavyweights have been known for. Tremendous, tremendous puncher, big, big heart, a guy who refuses to lose. So, nothing can be better than this. … I really predict that this fight will be considered the ‘Fight of the Year’ for 2022.”
The unbeaten Beterbiev, who owns the IBF and WBC light heavyweight titles, has knocked out every opponent since the Russian-born champion made his pro debut in June 2013. Smith (28-3, 22 KOs) has a significantly lower knockout percentage, yet he, too, is considered a legitimate threat to beat Beterbiev (17-0, 17 KOs) inside the distance in a main event ESPN will televise from Madison Square Garden’s Hulu Theater.
The 32-year-old Smith, of Mastic, New York, has officially suffered one technical-knockout defeat during his 12-year pro career.
He sustained a broken jaw during the second round of his fight against Eddie Caminero in August 2010. Smith fought through extreme pain for two rounds, but he eventually lost that bout by fourth-round TKO due to his injury.
Joe DeGuardia, Smith’s co-promoter, expects the Long Island native to withstand Beterbiev’s vaunted power and become a unified light heavyweight champion.
“What happens when you’re in this sport so long, you know, maybe it’s hard to get up for fights,” DeGuardia said during the press conference. “But as Bob is and I am, this is one fight that true boxing people can [get excited about]. True boxing people say, ‘I wanna see this fight.’ And fans wanna see this fight because this truly is bombs away, with two of the best fighters in the world, toughest fighters in the world. And actually, it’s more than bombs away, it’s nuclear. It’s gonna be something special.”
ESPN’s coverage is scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. ET. The telecast also will include a 10-round co-feature between Abraham Nova (21-0, 15 KOs), a featherweight contender from Albany, New York, and Robeisy Ramirez (9-1, 5 KOs), a two-time Olympic gold medalist from Cienfuegos, Cuba.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.