‘I catch him before he catches me’: Smith confident he’ll outgun Beterbiev

Callum Smith isn’t in awe of Artur Beterbiev’s knockout record as he heads into the world title clash.

As Callum Smith readies himself for another world title opportunity, taking on Artur Beterbiev this weekend, he tells Sky Sports that he’s going to prove the doubters wrong and be the first one to hand Beterbiev a professional loss.

While Beterbiev maintains a 100% KO ratio over his career, Smith says he’s not too concerned about the man’s power as he expects to be the one delivering the punishment once the bell rings.

“He’s a big puncher but nothing in my career so far shows that my chin’s a bit suspect or anything like that,” Smith said. “Touch wood, I’ve never been hit or hurt or dropped as a professional. I’ve always been very confident defensively. I believe I’m pretty tidy and I can stay quite tight. I know the dangers.”

Even still, Smith expects to keep an even tighter defense in this fight anyway because he’s aware that he won’t be able to afford to give up any silly shots. Put that together with his expectation for landing the bigger shots first and Smith sees himself putting it all together when it counts.

“I just think I catch him before he catches me and I can get rid of him. I genuinely do believe I’ve got the style to beat him. It’s no easy feat and I know I’m the underdog going in.”

Smith continues by saying he was also the underdog when he beat George Groves, and enjoyed the satisfaction of proving doubters wrong back then. He expects to do more of the same this weekend.