Former contender for the world title in light heavyweight (up to 79.4 kg) Briton Anthony Yard (22-2, 21 KOs) personally watched the victory of the unified champion from Canada Artur Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs) over the US champion Joe Smith Jr. (28-4, 22 KOs).
After the fight, Beterbiev’s most likely next opponent spoke out about Arthur’s performance, commented on Smith’s actions, talked about a possible duel in Britain and the keys to defeating Arthur.
Beterbiev – Smith. As per order — vRING report
Anthony, what do you think of Beterbiev’s dominant performance?
“I think he showed that he is very strong. He is a powerful puncher with good timing and good target selection.
– It was announced that your fight has already been signed for October. How excited are you for the fight and how can you be the winner in this fight?
“I think it will be a very, very exciting fight. I’m looking forward to it. Because this is another great opportunity. And that’s why I’m in this sport.
— I know it was only two rounds, but did you notice anything that you can have an advantage over?
“I think the fight went very quickly. I thought a lot about Smith’s tactics. She played into the hands of Beterbiev. As Smith approached him, Beterbiev landed clean, effective punches to the top of the head, and towards the end, he started firing hooks and uppercuts. It was a good performance.
– Do you think that you need to change your fighting style a little, because you like to go ahead and cut with opponents? But as you said, Beterbiev hits really hard.
– I hit hard too [смеётся].
Artur Beterbiev announced further plans: fight with Bivol, cruiserweight and heavyweight
– Did you improve your boxing after the fight in Russia with Kovalev?
Yes, I’ve gotten a lot better. Even if they are both Russian, they are different fighters. Completely different fighters, as you’ve seen.
Did you see how Smith could do better in this short bout?
“I think it needed more confidence, more jabs, more footwork. Once again, I think Beterbiev succeeded in this. He moved a lot from side to side, and when Joe Smith came up, he delivered heavy blows.
– Are you ready to come to New York for this fight or do you think that the fight in London will be more?
— I think there will be more fight in London.
— In (arena) O2?
“We don’t know yet. It all depends on the promoters.
– Will there be a fight on PPV?
– Let’s see. It depends on the promoters, Bob Arum, Frank Warren, Top Rank and BT Sports. Let’s see.
– In your opinion, who is better: Beterbiev or Bivol?
– From what I just saw and according to the record, you will name Beterbiev, but Beterbiev did not fight Canelo. They fought two different fighters. And nothing can be taken away from Bivol from what he did in the last battle.
– If Beterbiev becomes Canelo’s next opponent at 76.2 kg, how will this fight go?
Bivol is a different fighter, to be honest. I think Canelo is an accurate shooter. Stylistically, I think Canelo will do better against Beterbiev than Bivol because Bivol has more footwork and short, fast punches. Beterbiev has heavy slow shots. For a fighter like Canelo and his experience… He sparred with a lot of cruisers. Therefore, I think Canelo will be better in the fight against Beterbiev in terms of skills.
Artur Beterbiev – Joe Smith. Video of the knockout and the best moments of the fight
Do you think that Beterbiev is just a fighter who goes forward and wants to knock out opponents, or do you think he can bring some small subtleties to his boxing to be much better than just a knockout?
– Undoubtedly. You saw it today. He doesn’t knock out just because he’s strong. This is where skillset comes into play. That was the point. Otherwise, you would just see pears for the demolition of buildings in the box. Obviously it’s a set of skills. From what I saw today and what surprised me, Beterbiev has a lot of movement. He moved from side to side, then a jab and an overhand. So it’s not just power punches, there’s a lot of other things.
— Kovalev was a really big puncher.
– Yes.
– Since you were able to withstand the impact power for most of the fight, then why are you so confident in the duel with Beterbiev?
– To be honest, when I fought with Kovalev, Kovalev was a good marksman.
— Can you explain what a “sharp shooter” is?
– He shot accurately, broke my attacks. That’s how he knocked out most of his opponents – with short but fast straight punches. I saw Beterbiev work more with hooks and uppercuts today. But again, this is all talk. The only thing that matters is when you enter the ring.
Fight Beterbiev – Smith: statistics of the blows of the fight
Are you considering accepting a release clause to allow Beterbiev to fight Bivol for the title of undisputed champion?
“It’s unlikely to happen right now. I was told Beterbiev would come to London. We will make it a reality. That’s why I’m in the sport. Everyone wants a lot of money and so on, but I literally came out of nowhere. So I see this as an opportunity. No one knows what will happen tomorrow, but I see an opportunity to try to create a legacy. The money ends, but the legacy remains.
– Do you think the keys to defeating Beterbiev are moving around the ring, just not standing and trading blows with him?
– I think the key to defeating someone like Beterbiev is to be a better fighter, to be more accurate, faster, smarter. Let’s see on the night of the battle. I think I’ll shock a lot of people when we fight.
– How sure are you that you hit better than Beterbiev?
– Pretty sure. From what I saw today, he hits hard, but at the same time, he caught Smith when he came up. As you see in boxing over and over again, the punch that shakes you the most is the one you don’t see. Let’s not forget that the fight ended pretty quickly. None of them looked fast. As for me, they are both slow. I think if the fight had lasted a little longer, we might have seen more resistance from Joe Smith.