SUMMARY
- The fight purse in the unified light heavyweight title fight between champion Artur Beterbiev and challenger Callum Smith was over $2 million.
- Top Rank won the WBC bid to promote the event.
Artur Beterbiev took on Callum Smith on January 13, 2024, to defend his WBC, WBO, and IBF light heavyweight titles. The preliminary card featured several strong fights including a WBO Bantamweight title fight between champion Jason Moloney and challenger Saul Sanchez. Moreover, the co-main event was a super middleweight bout between Christian Mbilli and Rohan Murdock.
The successful Top Rank fight card took place in Quebec, Canada. Top Rank won the WBC bid with a hefty purse of $2,115,000. According to reports, 90% of the winning bid is split between the champion and the challenger 70-30.
Therefore, Beterbiev, the champion bagged 70% of the 90% winning bid equalling $1,332,450. On the other hand, Smith earned $571,050, making up 30% of the 90% bid. The remaining 10% of the bid equaling $211,500 was reserved for the victor.
Beterbiev’s extraordinary knockout record was on the line against Smith. The 38-year-old Russian-Canadian boxer had a 19-0 record before entering the fight with 19 KO wins. There were doubts surrounding his ability to take on England’s 33-year-old Smith. However, Beterbiev proved those doubters wrong.
In the seventh round of the fight, Beterbiev rocked Smith with a combination. For the first time in his career, Smith got knocked down. The Englishman beat the referee’s count but got knocked down again. Smith looked like he wanted to continue but his trainer Buddy McGirt stepped in to stop the fight. Beterbiev bagged the winner’s reward to earn a total of $1,543,950.
Artur Beterbiev vs. Callum Smith: Full card results
Main Card
- Artur Beterbiev defeats Callum Smith via seventh-round KO (2:00)
- Christian Mbilli defeats Rohan Murdock via sixth-round TKO (corner stoppage)
Artur Beterbiev is now 20-0 with 20 KOs – remaining the only world champion in boxing with a 100% KO ratio. pic.twitter.com/MNxpUrlFUj
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) January 14, 2024
Preliminary Card
- Jason Moloney defeats Saul Sanchez via majority decision (114-114, 116-112, 116-112)
- Imam Khataev defeats Michal Ludwiczak via second-round TKO (2:17)
- Leila Beaudoin defeats Elizabeth Espinoza via unanimous decision (78-74, 78-74, 77-75)
- Wilkens Mathieu defeats Jose Arias Alvarez via unanimous decision (40-36, 40-35, 40-35)
- Mehmet Unal defeats Dragan Lepei via first-round TKO (0:57)
- Christopher Guerrero defeats Sergio Herrera via unanimous decision (79-73, 78-74, 78-74)
- Moreno Fendero defeats Victor Hugo Flores via first-round KO (2:16)
Artur Beterbiev set to face Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed light heavyweight championship
Eddie Hearn claimed last week that a fight for the undisputed light heavyweight title has been signed by WBA title holder Dmitry Bivol. The fight was set to take place in April or May in Saudi Arabia. According to Hearn, Bivol would fight against the winner of Beterbiev vs. Smith but in their heads, the fight was against Beterbiev.
The time is now for Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol to crown an undisputed WBA, WBC, IBF & WBO light-heavyweight world champion in 2024… pic.twitter.com/5Nbp3t0fzO
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) January 14, 2024
“When we did the deal in Saudi Arabia with His Excellency, the plan was for Dmitry Bivol to fight for the undisputed fight. A fight that they like is Beterbiev against Bivol,” said Eddie Hearn to Boxing News. “Obviously, they haven’t thought much about the Callum Smith fight because, in their mind, I think they believe Beterbiev will win on Saturday. From our point of view with Bivol, he’s already signed to fight Artur Beterbiev.”
Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) will face Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs) in Saudi Arabia for the undisputed light heavyweight title. The fighters were set to meet last year as well but due to sanctions related to the Russia-Ukraine war it could not happen.
