Can Callum Smith pull off the unthinkable against Artur Beterbiev?

Artur Beterbiev has knocked out every opponent he has faced, Callum Smith has never been knocked out. Beterbiev is the unified Light Heavyweight champ, but he hasn’t faced anyone of Callum Smith’s quality before. Saturday, January 13, in Quebec City, a quality boxing matchup will play out. But Smith is adamant that he will flip the script on Beterbiev.

The storyline going into this bout has been all about whether or not Callum Smith can withstand Beterbiev’s onslaught. On the one hand, the Russian has long been the knockout king, with 19 wins, all by KO, on his record. On the other side, you have a former Super Middleweight champ, who took a fight with Canelo Álvarez on just four weeks’ notice and still managed to take the Mexican pound for pound king the distance. The general consensus around boxing circles has been that Smith is a tough nut to crack, but crack he will.

Except, someone seems to have forgotten to tell that to Callum Smith.

Besides that lopsided loss to Álvarez, Smith has hard-fought decision wins over John Ryder and George Groves. He has been in the ring with the best and has held his own. And if anything, he looks better at Light Heavy than he ever did at Super Middle.

Speaking to ESPN, Callum Smith said of Beterbiev, “He’s a very good fighter, his record speaks for itself, but he’s not invincible, he can be hit, and he can be hurt, we’ve seen that.”

Retired heavyweight David Price agrees, saying in an interview with Boxing News, “Beterbiev is a beast, and he’s battered everyone, but there are chinks in his armor, and if there’s anyone that can expose that, it’s Callum.”

Smith shows a swagger and confidence during fight week that gives even the most hardened opponent pause. Could it be that he knows something that nobody else knows? Or could this be yet another example of mislaid bravado?

Many expect Smith to come out fast, looking to inflict damage on Beterbiev early. The longer the fight goes on, the more it would seem to favor the Russian. But with the recent move up in weight for Smith, it could be that Beterbiev will try and impose his will early on. So rather than asking if Beterbiev can knock out Smith, the team around Callum Smith are saying that we should ask whether Beterbiev can withstand Smith.

On Saturday, all will be revealed.