Artur Beterbiev vs. Joe Smith Jr.: Preview,Prediction & Odds

One man chops liver, and the other chops down trees.

And the two will collide on June 18 as unbeaten WBC/IBF light heavyweight titleholder Artur Beterbiev takes on WBO titlist Joe Smith Jr. in a three-belt unification at the Madison Square Garden Theater in New York City.

Beterbiev (17-0, 17 KOs) is probably pound-for-pound the most destructive man in boxing right now, as shown by his perfect KO percentage. But his ninth-round KO of Marcus Browne last December proved Beterbiev was truly in another dimension. Beterbiev was down on the scorecards thanks to a headbutt from Browne that resulted in a gash between his eyes that sent blood pouring down his face and onto his chest. However, the blood only seemed to motivate Beterbiev to make his man pay, and that he did.

A left hook to the body punctuated by a straight right hand dropped Browne in round seven, and from that point on, it was like a bear hunting his prey, with the latter having no hope of surviving. In round nine, Beterbiev poured it on with Browne against the ropes and dropped him again from a body-blow combination followed by a left uppercut that sent Browne to his knees, where he remained for the full 10-count.

Smith (28-3, 22 KOs), a construction worker from Long Island, New York, won the then-vacant WBO title for his first major championship via a 12-round majority decision over Russia's Maxin Vlasov in April 2021. He made his first defense on January 15, scoring a ninth-round knockout of replacement opponent Steve Geffrard in New York.

Smith is probably the closest thing to Rocky Balboa. He's a regular guy who was often on the receiving end of harsh criticism, especially from the media, labeling him as nothing more than a club fighter with virtually no ceiling. He blew the roof off the building with one right hand when he annihilated Andrzej Fonfara in a first-round TKO in 2016. Again a massive underdog, Smith knocked Bernard Hopkins out of the ring later that year.

After suffering decision losses to Sullivan Barrera (sustained a broken jaw) and Dmitry Bivol, Smith bounced back with dominating performances against Jesse Hart (SD 10) and former world champion Eleider Alvarez (TKO 9) to put himself in position to fight for the vacant belt against Vlasov.

Two heavy punchers. One ring. And it shall be a beautiful, brutal display of boxing, but who will come out on top?

Beterbiev is a slow starter at times, and he has the shorter arms in this bout, so I expect Smith to be the aggressor in the early rounds. Some might ask, “Isn't that a dangerous strategy against Beterbiev?” Let's be real. Any strategy against Beterbiev is inherently dangerous; you're fighting Beterbiev. But if you're Smith and have the longer reach, would you rather jump on him early and try to get him out of there within the first six rounds? Or do you try and outbox him for 12 rounds? If Smith applies the latter, he is living on a prayer.

Beterbiev is no spring chicken. He's 37 years old, and it takes him a couple of rounds to get kicked into gear. I think Smith will risk it all because he doesn't have a choice. If Smith allows Beterbiev to turn on that engine, every second from that point forward is delaying the inevitable. Beterbiev will catch up to him and knock him out.

Smith could hurt Beterbiev early. We've seen him get dropped by Callum Johnson and by Jeff Page Jr, but both of those guys got knocked out. And in Page's case, he got cleaned out in the very next round after scoring the knockdown. With that said, we've seen Beterbiev get hurt, perhaps outboxed in parts by Oleksandr Gvozdyk, but no man has been able to keep him down. Will Joe Smith Jr. be the man to solve the puzzle?

I think Joe is going to perform better than most people think, and it will be an entertaining fight. Call it seven rounds of brutality. But once the fight gets into treacherous waters, the Russian bear will consume the axe-wielding Smith.

Prediction: Artur Beterbiev by seventh-round TKO

ARTUR BETERBIEV VS. JOE SMITH JR. BETTING ODDS

Per Draft Kings, Artur Beterbiev is the favorite at -750, and Joe Smith Jr. is the underdog at +500.

Artur Beterbiev: Decision +380; KO/TKO -295

Draw +2500

Joe Smith Jr.: Decision +1100; KO/TKO +900