Artur Beterbiev stops Callum Smith & opens door for Dmitry Bivol fight (Video)

Artur Beterbiev’s knockout streak continued when he finished Callum Smith, and now he seeks undisputed gold against Dmitry Bivol.

Beterbiev put his WBC, IBF, and WBO light heavyweight titles on the line against Smith this past Saturday night. Going into the fight, Smith’s lone career loss was against Canelo Alvarez. He had never been knocked out in a fight either, but that changed at the hands of Beterbiev.

Smith tried fighting his way out of danger in round seven as best he could, but the punching power of Beterbiev was simply too much. Smith was knocked down twice, and his trainer Buddy McGirt had seen enough.

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Artur Beterbiev turns attention to Dmitry Bivol

Now that he has gotten past Callum Smith, Artur Beterbiev is eyeing undisputed gold. In order to do that, he’ll need to share the ring with the current WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol. With their recent victories, Beterbiev and Bivol appear to be clear for a unification showdown.

In late December, Bivol handed Lyndon Arthur a unanimous decision defeat. Bivol won the IBO light heavyweight title in the process.

Beterbiev and Bivol are both undefeated champions. Beterbiev has a record of 20-0 with all 20 of those wins coming by way of knockout. Many believe this will be a battle of power punching versus a tactician. Bivol’s promoter Eddie Hearn claimed Bivol signed his end of the deal to fight Beterbiev.

Following his victory over Smith, Beterbiev said he wants to unify the gold at 175 pounds. It appears these two are due for a showdown in Saudi Arabia unless boxing politics get in the way. If 2023 was any indication, however, then the chances of this undisputed title fight happening are pretty solid. After all, we did get Terence Crawford vs. Errol Spence Jr.