"Nobody is perfect"- Artur Beterbiev's coach reflects on preparation for Unified Light Heavyweight Title fight against Joe Smith Jr.

Artur Beterbiev (left), Joe Smith Jr (right)
Artur Beterbiev (left), Joe Smith Jr (right)

Artur Beterbiev's coach, Marc Ramsay, is under no illusion that his fighter is invincible. Regardless, he believes the Canadian's discipline is what has allowed him to be so successful.

Beterbiev will face off against Joe Smith Jr. on June 18 at the Madison Square Garden Centre in New York. The hard-hitting, former gold medallist will have the opportunity to unify the WBC, IBF and WBO Light Heavyweight Championships.

The Russian-born boxer is coming off a phenomenal eighth-round knockout victory over Marcus Browne. Beterviev extended his hundred percent ratio by landing a devastating left uppercut to end the contest.

Meanwhile, his next opponent, Smith Jr., is on a four-fight winning streak following impressive wins against Jesse Hart, Eleider Alvarez, Maxim Vlasov and Steve Geffrard.

Here is what Beterbiev's coach said in part 1 of Blood, Sweat and Tears: Beterbiev vs. Smith Jr:

"Nobody is perfect but for a trainer to train a guy like that it's almost a perfect situation. Like every single decision that he makes in his life, it's for boxing. The difference is not the talent, the difference is the discpline and the work ethic that he has."

Watch the full episode:

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Artur Beterbiev is always looking for ways to improve

Artur Beterbiev is widely recognized as one of the hardest pound-for-pound punchers in the world. However, Beterbiev's trainers imply that he is also trying to improve his boxing skills and not solely rely on his power:

"He's looking to better, every training, for every fight. He don't care who he's fighting, he tried to be himself a better boxer always... He always says 'I want to be a good boxer one day,' so whenever we show him something, he'll be like 'If I keep learning, I'm going to be a better boxer one day.'"

Despite a perfect professional record, the Montreal-based world champion has struggled with slick boxers in the past. He famously lost to Oleksandr Usyk as an amateur and had a competitive encounter against another Ukrainian in Oleksandr Gvozdyk back in 2019.

Watch the fight highlights between Beterbiev and Gvozdyk:

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Smith Jr. does not appear to possess the same skill level of Usyk or Gvozdyk. Regardless, the current WBC and IBF Light Heavyweight Champion will have to be wary of 'The Common Man's power to be victorious.

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