Fans think that promoter Eddie Hearn is using mind games to get unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev out of the fight this week, so that his fighter Callum Smith can beat him and take three titles from him. He may also be planning to strip Beterbiev of the title and set up a controversial fight with WBA champion Dmitry Bivol in Saudi Arabia.
Psychological tactics
Matchroom Boxing promoter Hearn has commented on Beterbiev’s abnormal VADA test result from December 6. Beterbiev had not received negative results from other tests on December 21 and January 3.
Hearn has also repeatedly predicted that Smith would knock out Beterbiev with a single punch and send him crashing to the canvas. Fans believe that Hearn’s intention is to unsettle Beterbiev psychologically, making him fight scared or too aggressively, which would give Smith an advantage.
Will Hearn’s mind games affect Beterbiev?
It could be argued that without Hearn’s psychological tactics, there is no chance for Smith in this fight, as he lacks the talent and is simply a limited fighter. Smith (29-1, 21 KOs) has built up his record in several fights over the last three years, but if Beterbiev (19-1) is defeated on Saturday night in Quebec City, that record won’t matter.
If Smith performs like he did in his previous fight with Mathieu Baudrick and his loss to Canelo, Hearn’s mind games won’t make a difference. Smith spent a lot of time on the ropes in both fights, showing that he hadn’t learned his lesson.
“Yeah, I saw him really putting his weight behind him in the last 36 minutes against Canelo Alvarez, but Beterbiev is a dangerous guy,” Eddie Hearn said. Callum Smith was asked if he would be ready for the full 12 rounds against IBF, WBC and WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev on Saturday.
“The most difficult thing for Artur Beterbiev is the work rate. He doesn’t let you breathe. I think Callum Smith has more one-punch knockout ability than Artur. But Beterbiev is very high-pressing and throws a lot of punches, exhausting the opponent.
“He hit me on the side of the head, the back of the head, the body. You can’t let that go on for 36 minutes. You could have seen that against Oleksandr Gvozdyk. It was very similar. He was fine in the fight, but only at the very end.
“You have to be aggressive because there are fighters who can’t hold back anymore. I don’t think this fight will go beyond nine, eight, nine rounds because Callum is going to take his chances,” Hahn predicts.
