Coach Mark Ramsey is pleased with the way his ward unified light heavyweight champion Russian Artur Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs) finished last weekend with WBO belt holder American Joe Smith Jr. (28-4, 22 KOs).
In conversation with a correspondent
BoxingTalk Ramsey spoke about the last fight, and also shared his expectations – as expected, all the thoughts of the mentor about the fight of the ward with the owner of the WBA Super title missing from the complete collection of the Russian Dmitry Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs).
On whether Smith had a chance: When a fighter has the same power as Joe, then he always has a chance. So it’s not surprising that many believed in his victory. You yourself saw that even when he was shocked, he wanted to continue the fight. He was disappointed by the referee’s decision to stop the fight. With that kind of power and attitude, a fighter always has a chance. I don’t know what Arthur said to Joe after the win. But you yourself saw that they did not allow any attacks or insults against each other. Smith and his whole team are cool dudes.
That Beterbiev — more than just a puncher: I saw this a long time ago in the hall, because I see how he works almost every day. He seems too formulaic in the ring, but in fact he has always been a great boxer. It’s just a different style. Russian style. He’s different, he’s smart. And very often his rivals in the ring realize too late how smart he really is.
On the comparison to the legendary Roberto Duran: If you look at the history of boxing, there was such a legendary fighter Duran. Most fans remember what a tough puncher he was. But few people remember that he was also technically very good. He was very gifted. I don’t really want to compare Beterbiev and Duran. I just want to convey the idea that often because of unrealistic power, people do not notice your boxing sophistication.
On wanting to fight Bivol: It’s like a jigsaw puzzle with many pieces. This is exactly the fight we want. After all, only his title is not enough for us to complete the collection. It would be a cool fight, especially considering how technical they are both. This is a very cool fight for boxing fans, because Bivol is a great techie, a great boxer.
On rumors that Beterbiev will fight Anthony Yarde first: Let’s see. So far, there have been no proposals. I also heard about the duel with Yarde this week and was very surprised. In any case, first we will take a few weeks to rest. And then we’ll meet with (Beterbiev’s promoter) Top Rank and discuss future plans.
In the meantime, the ESPN pound has been updated: Beterbiev is in the top 10 – he is higher than Bivol and Lomachenko. The flamboyant Yard coach says: “I thought Beterbiev was faster.” And Arthur himself made it clear what kind of fight he needed: “Bivol wants to fight? Ok, let’s do it!”
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