Three of the four major light heavyweight titles will be on the line when Artur Beterbiev (17-0, 17 KOs) takes on Joe Smith Jr. (28-3, 22 KOs) for the WBC, IBF and WBO titles. The fight will take place in Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden on Saturday, June 18. ESPN will handle the live broadcast at 10 p.m. ET. Beterbiev is a massive favorite at -750 on DraftKings Sportsbook. Smith is betting at +500.
The 37-year-old Beterbiev is considered the top light heavyweight in the world by several outlets. He has won all his fights by knockout or TKO. This is Beterbiev’s sixth defense of his IBF title and third defense of the WBC title. If Beterbiev wins Saturday it’s expected that he will fight Dmitry Bivol to determine the undisputed champion of the division.
Smith Jr., 32, is primarily known for beating Hall of Famer Bernard Hopkins on December 17, 2016 by knocking him out through the ropes. The hard-punching American has stumbled a bit in recent years, but is on a four-fight win streak and won the WBO title on April 10, 2021 with a majority decision win over Maxim Vlasov.
Full Card
- Main event: Artur Beterbiev vs. Joe Smith Jr. for light heavyweight weight titles
- Robeisy Ramirez vs. Abraham Nova; Featherweight
- Wendy Toussaint (13-1) vs. Asinia Byfield (15-4-1), super welterweight
- Bruce Carrington (3-0) vs. Adrian Leyva (3-2-1), featherweight
- Jahi Tucker (7-0) vs. D’Andre Smith (11-1), welterweight
- Troy Isley (5-0) vs. Donte Stubbs (6-5), middleweight
- Jahyae Brown (10-0) vs. Keane McMahon (7-2), super welterweight
- Floyd Diaz (4-0) vs. Daniil Platonovschi (4-0), super bantamweight
- Kieran Molloy (1-0) vs. Jonathan Ryan Burrs (4-5), super welterweight