Joe Smith Jr. Vs. Artur Beterbiev: Odds, Records, Prediction

The biggest worry for fans of Artur Beterbiev might be that he’s moving out of his prime before he could make a truly huge impact in boxing. Joe Smith Jr’s fans might counter that by saying that Beterbiev’s biggest problem on Saturday night will be that Smith has the power to knock Beterbiev out. Here’s everything you need to know about Joe Smith Jr. vs. Artur Beterbiev, including the odds, their records and a prediction on who will win.

Beterbiev is undefeated, and he holds two of the 175-pound belts, but he’s already 37 years old. There’s a reason he’s a big betting favorite vs. Smith, but you can’t discount Smith, who also owns a light heavyweight world title, because of his massive power.

That’s one reason why Saturday night’s unification fight is so compelling: Both have the ability to score a highlight-reel stoppage at any time.

“Joe Smith is a tremendous fighter. He has a big heart. He has a lot of skills and a lot of punching power,” promoter Bob Arum said. “And what can I say about Artur Beterbiev? He really epitomizes the ferocity that light heavyweights have been known for. Tremendous puncher. Big heart. A guy who refuses to lose. Nothing can be better than this.”

After winning his first world title in 2017, Beterbiev has had some nice victories, including a unification victory vs. Oleksandr Gvozdyk in 2019. But he’s only fought twice since then, and though he scored what was probably the second- or third-best win of his career in his last outing vs. Marcus Browne, Beterbiev has faced some criticism for not winning as impressively as he should.

“I always ask my boxing coach and my conditioning coach about how I’m doing. I ask them if it’s less than I was doing two years ago. They tell me that I’m doing better than two years ago,” Beterbiev said. “If we compare it to the last one, this camp went very well. This camp was better.”

In his prime, Beterbiev had pound-for-pound talent. It’s unclear if that still exists for him. But for Smith, he’s never been seen as a fighter with those kinds of skills. Instead, he’s seen as that (literal) blue-collar fighter with a day job who might not be as technically skilled as many of his opponents but who has the punching power and the will to beat most of them.

Either way, Smith expects Beterbiev’s best.

“I believe this guy is in his prime right now,” Smith said. “I don’t think age has anything to do with it. I know he’s here at 100% and ready to go. I know I’m here fighting one of the best, so I trained at 110%. I made this camp a little longer. I made sure that I improved things that I wasn’t doing at my best. I stayed more consistent with my training, so I feel comfortable.”

Here’s more info on the Joe Smith Jr. vs. Artur Beterbiev showdown that U.S. viewers can watch on ESPN and ESPN+ beginning at 10 p.m. ET.

Joe Smith Jr. vs. Artur Beterbiev odds

Just like the Joe Smith vs. Jesse Hart matchup, when Smith was as much as 4/1, Smith seems to be way too big an underdog vs. Beterbiev. As of this writing, Beterbiev is a -800 favorite (bet $800 to make $100), while Smith is +450 (win $450 on a $100 wager). If you believe Smith would beat Beterbiev more than twice for every 10 times they fought, I’d put some money on Smith’s money line. Or, in reality, you should go for Smith to win by KO/TKO at +900 (I mean, that’s just a ridiculously huge value).

One longer-shot bet I love is the +450 on both fighters getting knocked down in the fight (or to get even more specific, it’s +800 for both fighters to be knocked down and Beterbiev to win and +2000 for both fighters to be knocked down and Smith to win). Both boxers possess so much power, and even though both seemingly have good chins, I like the idea that both will fall to the canvas (at least temporarily).

Joe Smith Jr. vs. Artur Beterbiev records

Smith (28-3, 22 KOs) hasn’t always succeeded at the top levels. Though he outpointed Maxim Vlasov 14 months ago to win his first world title, Smith has fallen at the hands of Dmitry Bivol and Sullivan Barrera. But Smith’s skills have certainly improved, as his wins vs. Eleider Alvarez and Jesse Hart prove. Beating Beterbiev, though, would be the biggest victory of his career.

Beterbiev hasn’t had an extensive pro career, but as his 17-0 (17 KOs) record attests, he’s a monster in the ring. He impressively knocked out Tavoris Cloud in Beterbiev’s sixth pro fight, and he’s also scored nice wins against Callum Johnson, Gvozdyk and Browne. But Smith is the hardest puncher he’s ever had to face.

Joe Smith Jr. vs. Artur Beterbiev prediction

I could see Beterbiev winning a decision, and I could see Smith scoring an early- to mid-round knockout. I guess it’s a matter of whether Smith has developed elite-level skill or if Beterbiev has gotten just a little too old. If only one (or none) of those is true, I’d lean toward Beterbiev. Say Beterbiev by decision, somewhere in the 117-111 range.