The second boxing weekend of the new year wrapped up in style on January 13th with Russia-Canadian juggernaut Artur Beterbiev rightfully earning all the plaudits and praise following a demolition win over British challenger Callum Smith that ended with Smith being stopped in the seventh round. Australian WBO bantamweight champion Jason Moloney also managed a win against American challenger Saul Sanchez. The Top Rank-promoted card was held at the Centre Videotron in Quebec, Canada, and the event was further broadcasted by ESPN.
Artur Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KO’s) defeated his twentieth opponent after stopping Callum Smith (29-2, 21 KO’s) to retain his 100% KO ratio during his light-heavyweight title defense. While clearly going up in age with Beterbiev now 40 (as opposed to Smith’s 33 years of age), the Russian-Canadian fighter proved to be in excellent shape as he mowed down Smith round after round to claim a significant victory against a worthwhile challenger.
Despite Smith boasting a number of advantages including height and reach, the British former super middleweight failed to use his attributes to maximum effect as Beterbiev adopted a steady inside approach combined with pressure that the Brit had no answers to. There was no lack of action by Smith himself but without the required footwork to keep a distance and with his jab failing to make much of a difference, Beterbiev coursed through the seven rounds with minimal damage while he gradually broke down Smith.
Beterbiev’s conditioning, footwork, punch placement and power almost made it a one-sided contest if it wasn’t for Smith’s physical attributes staving off an early knockout or stoppage. Known for his short yet powerful punches, it took Beterbiev several rounds to fight the right pace and range before his blows started connecting. By the seventh round, Callum Smith appeared to be clearly outmatched as none of his punches seemed to do much damage while Beterbiev’s own seemed to clearly do a good job of hurting Smith.
During the closing first minute of the seventh round, Beterbiev pounced on Smith when one of his punches appeared to buckle Smith’s knees and the Brit was subsequently heavily pressured by Beterbiev who impressively maintained his offensive with an endless barrage of punches before Smith fell straight down upon his buttocks to suffer the first knockdown of his career.
Sensing blood, Beterbiev continued his assault after the knockdown was counted by the referee and the two fighters’ positions were reset. With only half of the round left, Beterbiev spared no time to continue his offensive, landing a wide variety of punches through his combinations for roughly fifteen seconds before dropping Smith for the second time in the round.
Following the second knockdown, Smith’s coach, Buddy McGirt, indicated he wanted to stop the match and the referee obliged, waving Smith off while he was getting up from his knockdown which resulted in Artur Beterbiev being called the winner by technical knockout (TKO).
Smith might have won two or three rounds, which was also reflected by the judges’ scorecards with two giving a score of 58-56 in favor of Beterbiev while one only gave one round to Smith with a score of 59-55.
Artur Beterbiev’s performance saw him retain his WBC, WBO and IBF 175 lbs titles as a result, but most importantly Beterbiev again proved himself worthy of the pound-for-pound spot he currently enjoys on various established rankings. He was the favorite to win given his pedigree and the fact he fought in his now-home country of Canada, but his finishing performance over Beterbiev again verified he is one of the most dangerous boxers on the face of the planet.
Another notable fight on the card was Australian WBO bantamweight champion Jason Moloney’s (27-2, 19 KO’s) win over American challenger Saul Sanchez (20-3, 12 KO’s). Having won the WBO title last year in May in what became a close majority decision (MD) win, Moloney again scraped by with a MD win with scorecards of 116-112 twice and one draw of 114-114.
The draw score seemed out of place, as Moloney did control the pace and the ring for the majority of the match and had clearly won by the end of the last twelfth round, thereby marring what should have been a unanimous decision win. Regardless, Moloney’s first title defense showed he was not ready to lay down for anyone yet.
French super middleweight contender Christian M’billi (26-0, 22 KO’s) also impressed as he made Australian opponent Rohan Murdock (27-3, 19 KO’s) quit in the 6th round of their ten-round bout to announce his credentials as a legitimate 168 lbs contender.
