You could call Callum Smith a ton of things, but lacking in confidence? That was never a part of his DNA. Fighting Artur Beterbiev might be viewed as the scariest thing in the world at the moment, but Smith knew what he was getting himself into.
This past Saturday night in Quebec City, Smith (29-2, 21 KOs) sauntered to the ring stoically. Once inside, he watched as Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) stomped his way through the arena while fans cheered every step.
Smith planned on using every trick imaginable to get the job done. He boxed from the outside and attempted to use his reach. Once that didn’t work, he stood his ground and pushed Beterbiev back. Much like plan A, plan B was also a failure. So, with his options dwindling, Smith was given no choice but to take a beating.
Buddy McGirt, Smith’s trainer, didn’t like what he was seeing. In the seventh, he jumped out of his seat following two knockdowns and got in the ring to grab the attention of the referee – forcing him to wave things off.
McGirt has had a few days to digest what went wrong for his man. If he wanted, McGirt could’ve broken down the X’s and O’s but at this point, there was no need. So, instead of going into mundane details, he simply issued a formulaic answer.
“Some days you’re on point, some days you’re not,” McGirt told Pro Boxing Fans. “So, you know, go back to the drawing board.”
For Beterbiev, another one bites the dust. Not only does the 38-year-old win but he flat-out steamrolls his competition. Unsurprisingly, Beterbiev’s power gets most of the headlines. By and large, once he lands, the fight is essentially over with. McGirt knows that the Russian light heavyweight champ has deleterious power and can turn out just about anyone’s lights in the blink of an eye. But, after watching him up close, he realizes that he’s much more than just power.
“They talk about his strength and punching power but he’s a very smart fighter. He’s gonna be tough to beat.”