WBO Light Heavyweight Champion Joe Smith Jr. (27-3, 21 KOs) will face Callum Johnson (20-1, 14 KOs) in Verona on 15 January in his first belt defense. If Smith wins, he promises to aim for a unification bout with the IBF and WBC champion Artur Beterbiev (17-0, 17 KO). However, according to Smith Jr., the Russian has avoided this fight in the past and will continue to do so.
“I don’t believe that Beterbiev wants to fight me. When I entered the ring with Eleider Alvarez, Beterbiev's coach stood in his corner. He saw what I did, and it was a very convincing signal for him,” said Smith Jr.
“I signed a lot of contracts for the fight with Beterbiev, but he always found some kind of injuries. I was supposed to fight him in 2018 after his victory over Callum Johnson, but from what I heard, he did not have time to prepare in time due to the shots that he missed from Johnson,” added the American.
“I was preparing for the fight with Beterbiev for several months, but in the end he withdrew, and I met with Dmitry Bivol, although I was rather tired before this fight. Meanwhile, everyone says that I avoid Beterbiev. Quite the opposite,” summed up the topic the boxer from Long Island.
Beterbiev and Smith Jr. are on a contract with the Top Rank promotion organization. Thus, their confrontation this year is one of the most anticipated for the audience, especially since both profess extremely uncompromising boxing.
