After a bright victory over the American Joe Smith Jr. (28-4, 22 KOs) in the fight for the unification of the IBF / WBC / WBO light heavyweight titles (up to 79.4 kg), Canadian representative Artur Beterbiev (18-0 , 18 KOs) answered questions from the American media.
AT
interview Artur commented on the short-lived unification bout, answered a question about a possible fight for the title of absolute division champion against Russian WBA Super champion Dmitry Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs), and also announced his future plans.
Beterbiev – Smith. As per order — vRING report
— Arthur, were you surprised by your quick victory?
— No, I’m not surprised, because this is boxing. This can happen.
Were you surprised that he came out aggressive?
You know, he has such a style. He does every fight like that. Always so.
Artur Beterbiev – Joe Smith. Video of the knockout and the best moments of the fight
– Do you like this style?
Yes, but don’t tell anyone. [смеётся].
– The fight went quickly, did he disturb you with something in the ring, shocked, disturbed, something like that?
“I think he caught me with a kick here.” [показывает на лоб]. I didn’t understand how he caught me. My trainer said it was the elbow. I’ll watch it on video.
It looks like Anthony Yarde could be your next opponent as Bivol is contractually required to fight Canelo at some point. Have you seen the fight between Anthony Yarde and Kovalev? If you did, were you impressed by his performance?
I didn’t see this fight. Don’t know.
Anthony Yarde called you and Joe Smith slow, what do you think about that?
— Ok, I understand. [улыбается].
Beterbiev’s next fight: everything is already more or less agreed – promoter
– Will Bivol be ahead?
Yes, they always say they want to fight in the next fight. Okay, let’s do this.
– How do you think the fight between you and Bivol will go?
– I dont know. We need this fight [смеётся].
We know you respect Joe Smith, but you took him down in two rounds. Did you expect the fight to go so fast?
No, I didn’t expect. In all my fights, I don’t focus on the knockout. I’m trying to show what we’ve been working on for 8 weeks. I try to do these things in the ring.
“Arthur, another knockout, two quick rounds. You have established yourself as a puncher. I know the fight went quickly, but did you see your weaknesses?
We will see the conclusions of my team after this fight.
– When you started your boxing career, did you imagine that you would own three titles and be one title away from the absolute championship?
– No, because when I started boxing, my dream was to win the gold medal of the Olympics. I didn’t think about professionals. When I turned pro, I didn’t dream much [смеётся].
Yard threatens to do to Beterbiev what he did to Smith – video
You were boxing at the Madison Square Garden Theater and the crowd was cheering for Joe Smith…
“It’s a pleasure to fight here. This is a historic place in New York. I appreciate it.
I know you don’t really care what people think of you, but do you think people should give more credit to your boxing ability?
– This question is not for me. Ask them [смеётся].
Would you rather fight Bivol for the undisputed champion than Canelo?
– Yes.
– If you beat Bivol and become the undisputed champion, will you move up to cruiserweight or stay at 79.4 kg?
– This is an interesting question. I need to think about it after [улыбается]. Cruiserweight first, then heavyweight.
So you’re seriously considering moving up to heavyweight?
— Yes, I’m interested in winning other titles. I hope my promoter arranges this for me.
– After your fights with Usyk in the amateurs, does this kind of motivate you? After all, he is now a heavyweight champion.
Yes, he did a good job, but we’ll see.
