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Artur Beterbiev vs. Joe Smith Jr. will take place on June 18 at Madison Square Garden, New York. Both men will be competing for the Unified Light Heavyweight Championship, with the WBC, IBF & WBO belts on the line.
The fight is scheduled for 12 rounds in the light heavyweight division, meaning the athletes will have to make the weight limit of 175 pounds (12.25 stone or 79.55 kg) on the night of the weigh-ins.
Beterbiev has held the IBF title since 2017 and the WBC title since 2019. The Russian will enter the ring with an undefeated record of 17-0 with 17 knockouts to his name, giving him a 100% knockout rate.
Smith Jr. has held the WBO title since 2021. In 2016, the American became the first boxer to score a stoppage victory over former Undisputed Middleweight World Champion Bernard Hopkins. The 32-year-old holds a record of 28-3 with 22 of his victories coming before the bell. This gives him a knockout rate of 70.97%.
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The Russian enters the fight being much the bigger puncher due to every one of his opponents suffering a knockout defeat. Furthermore, the 37-year-old is yet to be beaten as a professional.
Smith Jr., on the other hand, has suffered three defeats in his career, with one of them being by a technical knockout against Eddie Caminero in 2010.
Both men are orthodox fighters with only a centimetre height advantage in Smith Jr.'s favor. The American, nevertheless, has a three-inch reach edge over Beterbiev.
The odds are most certainly in Beterbiev's favor with the aura surrounding his ferocious knockout power and unbeaten record. However, Smith Jr. is also a heavy-hitter and is the younger man.
Additionally, the American will have the support of his home crowd inside the arena, which will give him an extra ounce of momentum.
Artur Beterbiev vs. Joe Smith Jr. odds
According to Odds Checker, the Russian stands as a favorite in the undisputed matchup.
Artur Beterbiev has a 2/13 chance of beating his American opponent with 8/1 odds of it being via knockout in the eighth or ninth round. Meanwhile, Smith Jr. has a 6/1 chance of winning in him home country, including 80/1 and 100/1 odds of winning by knockout.
Odds Checker have a draw being a 33/1 chance of happening and considering both men are hard-hitters, it looks very unlikely.
