- Beterbiev has reportedly signed to fight compatriot Dmitry Bivol this spring
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Callum Smith proved to be no challenge for unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev in Quebec City on Saturday, where he suffered a knockdown for the first time in his career before losing by seventh-round knockout.
Beterbiev, widely regarded as one of the world’s best boxers, scored equally easy victories over Anthony Yarde, Joe Smith Jr. and Marcus Browne and improved to 20-0, with all wins coming via knockout.
The 34-year-old Russian-born Canadian national could move to fight fellow undefeated Russian Dmitry Bivol in what would be a highly anticipated bout for boxing fans.
Promoter Eddie Hearn said this week that both fighters have signed to meet in April or May in a unification fight in Saudi Arabia.
Artur Beterbiev, left, and Callum Smith are pictured earlier at the weigh-in
Australian Jason Moloney (left) survived a twelve-round fight with bantamweight Saul Sanchez
On the undercard, Australian Jason Moloney survived a 12-round fight with Mexican bantamweight Saul Sanchez to defend his WBO title.
Moloney bounced back from a slow start by majority decision in his first defense of the title he won in May.
The win sets up a likely matchup between George Kambosos Jr. and Vasily Lomachenko in May, when the two lightweights will battle for the vacant IBF title.
Moloney could face IBF bantamweight champion Emmanuel Rodriguez, who he lost to five years earlier.
Another option could be Junto Nakatani, a former flyweight title holder.
And then there’s WBA champion Takuma Inoue, the younger brother of Naoya Inou, who defeated Moloney in 2020.