Five months after it was postponed, Artur Beterbiev-Callum Smith became official Friday afternoon in Quebec City, Canada.
The Russian-born, Montreal-based Beterbiev and Liverpool’s Smith both made weight for their 12-round, 175-pound championship clash Saturday night at Videotron Centre. Beterbiev officially weighed in at exactly 175 pounds, slightly more than Smith, who came in at 174.6 pounds.
ESPN will broadcast Beterbiev-Smith as the main event of a doubleheader scheduled to begin at 10 p.m. ET. DraftKings sportsbook listed Beterbiev as more than a 4-1 favorite Friday to beat Smith, who is the mandatory challenger for the 38-year-old Beterbiev’s WBC crown.
Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KOs) will also defend his IBF and WBO belts against the 33-year-old Smith (29-1, 21 KOs), who has lost only a 12-round unanimous decision to Canelo Alvarez. Mexico’s Alvarez (60-2-2, 39 KOs) beat Smith by scores of 119-109, 119-109 and 117-111 in their 168-pound title bout in December 2020 at Alamodome in San Antonio.
Beterbiev and Smith were initially scheduled to fight August 19 at Videotron Centre. Their mandated match was postponed late in July because Beterbiev developed an infection in his jaw that interrupted training camp.
The official weights for the eight fights on the Beterbiev-Smith undercard are listed below.
ESPN
10 p.m. ET; 7 p.m. PT
Christian Mbilli (25-0, 21 KOs), Yaounde, Cameroon, 167.3 pounds vs. Rohan Murdock (27-2, 19 KOs), Nerang, Australia, 167.6 pounds, 10 rounds, super middleweights.
ESPN+
5:30 p.m. ET; 2:30 p.m. PT
Jason Maloney (26-2, 19 KOs), New South Wales, Australia, 117.5 pounds vs. Saul Sanchez (20-2, 12 KOs), Pacoima, California, 117.8 pounds, 12 rounds for Maloney’s WBO bantamweight title.
Imam Khataev (5-0, 5 KOs), Sydney, Australia, 174.6 pounds vs. Michal Ludwiczak (17-12-1, 9 KOs), Leszno, Poland, 178.6 pounds, 10 rounds, cruiserweights.
Leila Beaudoin (10-1, 1 KO), Levis, Quebec, Canada, 129.9 pounds vs. Elizabeth Espinoza (4-5-3, 1 KO), Torreon, Mexico, 128.6 pounds, 8 rounds, junior lightweights.
Wilkens Mathieu (5-0, 3 KOs), Montreal, 168.8 pounds vs. Jose Arias Alvarez (3-1, 1 KO), Leon, Mexico, 167.7 pounds, 4 rounds, super middleweights.
Mehmet Unal (7-0, 6 KOs), Adana, Turkey, 177.8 pounds vs. Dragan Lepei (22-6-2, 10 KOs, 1 NC), Lastra a Signa, Italy, 177.7 pounds, 8 rounds, cruiserweights.
Christopher Guerrero (9-0, 5 KOs), Montreal, 149.5 pounds vs. Sergio Herrera (7-3, 4 KOs), Tecolotlan, Mexico, 149.6 pounds, 8 rounds, junior middleweights.
Moreno Fendero (2-0, 1 KO), Chartres, France, 162.8 pounds vs. Victor Hugo Flores (7-2, 3 KOs), Pachucha, Mexico, 162.3 pounds, 4 rounds, super middleweights.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.