Unbeaten and untied, with all 19 of his pro victories coming by way of knockouts, Artur Beterbiev is every light heavyweight’s worst matchup.
Sure, there are plenty of scary characters in the sport, such as Japan’s “Monster,” Naoya Inoue, fellow pound-for-pound standout Terence Crawford, and any number of heavyweights that can fell an opponent with a single blow. But the three-belt light heavyweight champion born in Khasavyurt, Russia – who faces Callum Smith this Saturday in Quebec City - is a different character altogether.
If you saw him walking down the street, you wouldn’t cross to avoid him. He’s quick with a smile and doesn’t carry an aura of menace outside the ring.
“I just try to do my job,” he said during Top Rank’s “A Tale of Ten Punches” show.
Tie gloves on him and put him in a boxing ring, though, and that’s a different story, even if he isn’t going to make highlight reels like a Crawford or Inoue. His technique is top-notch, but in a fundamental, not flashy, way. He has one punch power, but usually punishes foes with thudding shots to finish fights. His chin can take it, but he has enough defensive lapses to keep things interesting. And while he’s scored 13 of his 19 knockouts in five rounds or less, he’s done some of his best work in the late rounds.
And he’s 38 years old.
In other words, he doesn’t fit the Hollywood prototype, and that’s led opponents to respect the “old man” from Montreal, but not necessarily fear him. They’ve seen him knocked down by Jeff Page and Callum Johnson, and witnessed Marcus Browne and Anthony Yarde have their moments where it appeared that they would pull off the upset, and even early on, when Beterbiev showed that he was an A-1 punisher, there were those who thought they saw enough holes in his game to be exploited.
“I see a power puncher that comes forward, but he’s hittable,” Radivoje Kalajdzic told me before he challenged the Russian for the IBF 175-pound crown in May of 2019. “He’s been dropped twice, and I have power, as well, so it’s gonna be a fun night. I’m a come forward fighter, too. All my fights, I come forward and press the issue so it’s going to be interesting.”
It was not a fun night for “Hot Rod,” who was halted in the fifth round.
“It’s like Mike Tyson said, ‘Everyone will have a plan before they get punched,’” said Beterbiev on “A Tale of Ten Punches.”
The two-time Olympian smiled as he quoted “Iron Mike,” secure in the fact that only a select few own that kind of fight-altering power. By then, Beterbiev’s legend was growing with each fight, reaching a fever pitch by the time he added the WBC belt by stopping Oleksandr Gvozdyk and then the WBO belt by finishing Joe Smith in two rounds.
Yes, the Gvozdyk win was impressive, and he may have been at his frightening best in the Smith fight, but if you want to know why Beterbiev is the scariest fighter in the game today, look no further than December 17, 2021, when he knocked Browne out in the ninth round.
A cursory glance of the result will make one assume that it was just another dominant win by Beterbiev, and it was, but not in the conventional sense.
“When you box with a southpaw it is a little bit different,” said Beterbiev, who had a slow start before starting to take over. Then a clash of heads produced a nasty cut in the middle of his forehead and the complexion of the fight changed.
For Browne. Once in a winnable fight, the New Yorker was systematically broken down by Beterbiev, whose blood only motivated him more as he marched after Browne, unwilling to let a doctor’s call determine his fate.
“When I got cut, my blood is not stopping,” Beterbiev said. “When you prepare for a fight, you need to be ready for different scenarios.”
You could almost see Browne drowning in the pressure and body shots as the rounds went on, and eventually the fight was over. The scenario was unlike any Beterbiev experienced before, but the result was the same.
A win. A knockout. Another notch in the belt of the boogeyman, who will face another fighter confident of victory in Callum Smith.
The Liverpool native, 29-1 with 21 knockouts, with his only loss coming via decision to Canelo Alvarez in 2020, is a good fighter with good power, a good chin and the tools to win, especially with Beterbiev days away from his 39th birthday.
But breaking a fight down on paper is different than what happens when the combatants are actually in the ring, and Beterbiev’s intangibles make any attempt at a prediction a roll of the dice at best. So when looking at this weekend’s big fight, just remember this:
“One sparring partner compared sparring with me with car accident,” said Beterbiev on “A Tale of Ten Punches.”
And he smiled again.