Artur Beterbiev successfully defended his light heavyweight title at the weight limit of 175 pounds, with challenger Callum Smith coming in just under at 174.6 pounds.
The fight for Beterbiev’s WBC, IBF, and WBA belts (19-0, 19 KOs) is set to take place at the Center Videotron in Quebec City, Canada, and will be broadcast live on ESPN in the United States. The main broadcast begins at 10pm ET on ESPN+.
Beterbiev, 38, hails from Khasabyurt, Russia, but resides and trains in Montreal, three hours away. His last fight was nearly a year ago when he defeated Anthony Yarde in eight rounds.
with Artur Beterbiev @CallumSmith23 They will make weight and face off for the light heavyweight championship bout. #beterbievsmith pic.twitter.com/TyveIIjXCb
— Ryan Songalia (@ryansongalia) January 12, 2024
The Beterbiev-Smith fight was originally scheduled for Aug. 19 but was postponed after Beterbiev underwent surgery for a jaw bone infection.
Smith (29-1, 21 KOs) held the WBA super middleweight belt since 2018, competing in two weight classes until his only loss in 2020, when he suffered a unanimous decision defeat to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez. He aims to become a world champion again. Since then, he has won two straight fights against lower-ranked opponents.
Liverpool’s Smith, who last fought in August 2022 when he knocked out Mathieu Beaudriek, is also coming off a significant hiatus.
The co-main event will feature a super middleweight battle between Christian Mbili (25-0, 21 KOs) of Pornic, France, and Rohan Murdoch (31) of Nerang, Australia (27-2, 19 KOs). Mbili weighed 167.3 pounds, and Murdoch weighed 167.6 pounds.
.@JasonMoloney1 He will weigh 117.5 pounds for his first defense of the WBO bantamweight title, while challenger Saul Sanchez will weigh 117.8 pounds.The two crashed into each other and said goodbye before tomorrow’s game. #beterbievsmith pic.twitter.com/40JvDjUJgg
— Ryan Songalia (@ryansongalia) January 12, 2024
The undercard, which begins streaming on ESPN+ at 5:30 p.m. ET, is headlined by WBO bantamweight titleholder Jason Moloney (26-2, 19 KOs), who defends the belt for the first time against Saul Sanchez (20-2, 12 KOs). Sanchez, 26, of Pacoima, California, weighed 117.8 pounds, and Moloney, 33, of New South Wales, Australia, weighed 117.5 pounds.
