"You can just see it" - Eddie Hearn believes Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev won't happen

Eddie Hearn believes that Callum Smith will throw a wrench in Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev.

The two light-heavyweight champions have been inching closer to a long-awaited title indication. For years now, both Bivol and Beterbiev have been seen as the greatest fighters at 175 pounds. Given their dominant wins as of late, it hasn't been close either.

In the last few weeks, it's been revealed that the two sides are deep in talks. In fact, Bivol has reportedly already signed a deal to fight Beterbiev next year in Saudi Arabia. That being said, the latter still has business to deal with.

That 'business', is one Callum Smith. The former super-middleweight champion and Canelo Alvarez foe is set to fight Beterbiev later this month. As of now, 'Mundo' is a massive underdog to win light-heavyweight gold.

However, Hearn is riding with Smith to get it done and upend talks of Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev. Speaking on the Matchroom YouTube channel, the promoter stated (via BoxingScene):

“Yeah, you know, you can just see it, you know?... I can just – every time I think about this fight, you know, as Callum does, just catch, counter, I can see him knocking out Artur Beterbiev out cold in Quebec... It’s a tough task, but I really believe [Callum is] gonna do it... I really believe Callum Smith will beat Beterbiev and become the unified light heavyweight world champion, two-division world champion as well."

Check out his comments below (0:10):

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Will Callum Smith prevent Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol? Current betting odds

The odds don't agree with Eddie Hearn about Callum Smith vs. Artur Beterbiev.

While the Russian light-heavyweight champion is older, he's shown no sign of slowing down. That was best shown by his war with Anthony Yarde in January, where he just drowned 'The Beast From The East' to win by knockout.

Still, 'Mundo' has an excellent resume in his own right. A former champion down at 168 pounds, he moved up to light-heavyweight in 2021. Since then, Smith has captured knockout wins over Lenin Castillo and Mathieu Bauderlique.

While those stoppage victories impressed Hearn, bettors aren't as convinced. According to the current line from MGM, Beterbiev is currently a -450 favorite for the title bout. Meanwhile, Smith returns as a +333 underdog.

Obviously, there's still work needed to make Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev a reality. However, fans don't believe that Smith will be the one to prevent the matchup.