Artur Beterbiev continued his fearsome form by adding a twentieth stoppage victory in as many fights to his record, this time against Callum Smith.
Smith challenged for the unified light-heavyweight titles, but Beterbiev held onto them by knocking the Brit down twice before his corner called the fight.
It was the 38-year-old at his destructive best, and now all roads lead to an undisputed contest with WBA Champion, Dmitry Bivol.
Commenting on the performance, world champion-turned-pundit Tony Bellew praised his fellow Liverpool native before questioning how Beterbiev is ‘getting stronger’ with age.
“He’s a beast and a fighter who is getting stronger as he gets older which is hard to believe but he is! Callum as brave as anything! A soldier who went there and gave it everything! Faced that monster in his backyard! So frustrated cos I wanna say more! Boxing.”
“Obviously we wanna see Bivol Beterbiev next! It’s a great fight but please show me a fighter who has got stronger with age! He’s 39 and he’s getting more destructive! Physically that’s not usually possible but he’s doing it! Our great sport needs looking at like Baseball was!”
Obviously we wanna see Bivol Beterbiev next! It’s a great fight but please show me a fighter who has got stronger with age! He’s 39 and he’s getting more destructive! Physically that’s not usually possible but he’s doing it! Our great sport needs looking at like Baseball was! 😡
— Tony Bellew (@TonyBellew) January 14, 2024
Bellew seems to be continuing the narrative that Beterbiev wasn’t playing by the rules, something that was started pre-fight when news broke that he had returned ‘atypical’ results in a VADA doping test.
This was not a fail, but a result that merited further testing. That agency confirmed Beterbiev returned negative tests soon after. He said any attempts to portray it otherwise was unacceptable.