Callum Smith blames his loss to unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev on his being out of the ring for 17 months and not having any sparring for 5 to 6 weeks in the camp for their clash on January 13th.
Beterbiev Loss Fallout
In that fight, everything went wrong for Smith (30-2, 22 KOs). He was blown out in seven rounds by Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) and made to look like an average fighter.
Callum bounced back from that loss, knocking out little-known Colombian journeyman Carlos Galvan (20-15-2, 19 KOs) in the fifth round on November 30th last year.
Next up for Smith, 34, is WBO interim light heavyweight champion Joshua Buatsi on February 22nd on the Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 undercard in Riyadh. If Callum can win this fight against the unbeaten Buatsi (19-0, 13 KOs), he’ll be able to get an eventual title shot against the winner of the Beterbiev-Bivol 2 rematch.
Few boxing fans believe Smith will defeat the tough 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Buatsi. Buatsi can punch, has a strong chin, and is aggressive. In his last fight, he walked through pure hell, defeating Willy Hutchinson by a 12-round split decision on September 21st at Wembley Stadium in London.
Not known for being a bit of a puncher, Hutchinson hurt Buatsi several times in the fight just by staying in the fight and continually landing shots at him. However, there were times when it looked like Buatsi was on the verge of knocking him out. The shots that Joshua hit Hutchinson with in that fight would likely have been too much for Callum, and he’d have folded for sure.
No More Excuses
“I hate fighters that make excuses, but I had 17 months outside of the ring, which then, you think, ‘I’ll get a lot of sparring,’ but I didn’t. I didn’t do any sparring for five or six weeks before. I didn’t prepare as well,” said Callum Smith to Sky Sports Boxing on why he lost to unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev last year on January 13th.
“So, the preparation wasn’t ideal. I’d been out of the ring for 17 months. I really couldn’t afford to postpone it again and have it two years out of the ring. That was the challenge. He had the belts, he was the champion. You live and you learn.
“I believed I would get it right on the night and I didn’t. I lost the fight and paid the price. I came away and assessed what went wrong. I believe I’ve corrected thing, I’ve improved and I’m a better fighter because of it, said Smith.
It sure does sound like Callum is making excuses for his loss. Oh well, I guess he’s got to say something to try and make sense of what happened to him in his blowout loss to Beterbiev. It’s called ‘ego protection.’
“I didn’t do any sparring for five or six weeks beforehand” 🗣️
Callum Smith opens up on his defeat to Artur Beterbiev. pic.twitter.com/4j3CdyWOd7
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) January 14, 2025
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