As we reported earlier, the British former super middleweight champion and official WBC light heavyweight contender (up to 79.4 kg) Briton Callum Smith (29-1, 21 KOs) was injured and will not be able to enter the ring on March 11 against the Pole Pavel Stepin in a duel, the purpose of which was to “warm up” Smith before the fight with the title holder Artur Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KOs).
Apparently, Smith’s team decided to abandon the interim performance and immediately head for the duel against Beterbiev.
“The injury is not too serious, but still it put Callum out of action for about 6-8 weeks,” said the promoter of the British boxer Eddie Hearn. “Of course, it’s disappointing, because he spent 8 to 10 weeks of training in America under Buddy McGirt, after which he returned to Liverpool.”
“Now the focus is only on Artur Beterbiev,” says Hearn. “We sent a letter to the WBC informing them of the situation. Smith is the mandatory challenger for Beterbiev and we expect the organization to schedule this fight now so that negotiations can begin as soon as possible.”
“I’ll get rid of him.” Callum Smith on Beterbiev, Bivol and others
Source: https://vringe.com/news/163279-u-smita-vzyali-kurs-na-beterbieva.htm?rand=141343
