The referee stopped the fight after Artur Beterbiev kept landing shots on Joe Smith Jr. 1:45
Artur Beterbiev and Joe Smith Jr. were billed as a can't-miss fight, and the main event delivered for as long as it lasted.
Beterbiev scored three knockdowns of Smith en route to a second-round TKO to capture a third light heavyweights title on Saturday.
Beterbiev floored Smith with a counter right hand in the closing seconds of the first round.
Beterbiev's power and shot placement proved to be too much for the 175-pounds in the second round. The Long Island, New York, native was on the canvas again after a flurry of punches after he was dropped by the 37 year old.
| Punches | Beterbiev | Smith |
|---|---|---|
| Total landed | 48 | 11 |
| Total thrown | 102 | 67 |
| Percent | 47% | 16% |
| Jabs landed | 14 | 4 |
| Jabs thrown | 39 | 33 |
| Percent | 36% | 12% |
| Power landed | 34 | 7 |
| Power thrown | 63 | 34 |
| Percent | 54% | 21% |
| -- Courtesy of CompuBox |
Smith never tried to get his senses back. He attempted to punch his way out of trouble. The referee jumped in before Smith could fall a fourth time after Beterbiev made him pay with a left uppercut and a right uppercut. The time of the stop was 2 minutes and 19 seconds. Smith was taken to a hospital to be checked out.
Beterbiev said that he wants to be a good boxer one day. I'm able to get him because Joe is a little bit open. The two fighters tried to get there first. I get there first, this time.
Smith was knocked to the ground by Beterbiev. The fight lived up to the hype for a little more than five minutes.
Smith tried to pin Beterbiev in the corner, but the Russian used Smith's pressure against him. Smith wasn't deterred even though he took one step back and fired a counter shot.
Smith has beaten the odds many times. The legend was sent through the ropes and into retirement after his first-round knockout of Andrzej Fonfara in 2016.
The worker has been working for a long time. He had a career-best victory in 2020 when he stopped Eleider Alvarez.
When Smith got his second chance at a title, he came through with a majority decision victory.
Smith was defeated by Beterbiev. No one has been able to hold onto Beterbiev. Not Marcus Browne, nor Oleksandr Gvozdyk, who Beterbiev stopped in his only other fight.
Anthony Yarde is a 30-year-old Englishman who came oh-so- close to stopping Sergey Kovalev. The plan is for Beterbiev to defend his titles against Yarde in London on October 29th.
Yarde said that he was a beast. The man hits very hard. I'm a monster as well. I think it's an exciting match up.
The fight with Bivol will probably have to wait.
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