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Joe Smith Jr. has acknowledged that his fight against Artur Beterbiev this Saturday will be one of the biggest of his career. Smith Jr. is set to take on Beterbiev at Madison Square Garden in New York for the WBC, WBO and IBF Light Heavyweight Championships.
Similar to when he fought Bernard Hopkins back in 2016, Smith is the clear underdog going into the contest against the undefeated Beterbiev. However, 'The Common Man' caused an upset by defeating Hopkins and it remains to be seen if he can do the same against the Russian, who has a 100% knockout ratio.
Watch the fight highlights of Smith Jr. vs. Hopkins:
Here's what Smith Jr. said at the final press conference when asked if the fight with Beterbiev is going to be different from that with Hopkins:
"This is a huge opportunity. Beterbiev is a huge name in boxing. Everyone knows who he is at this point. He has two world titles and you know, I want those belts. I believe this fights going to be great, we got two big punchers and I'm just excited to be in there with him and like I said he's a great name."
Watch the full press conference:
How does Joe Smith Jr's fight with Artur Beterbiev compare with Bernard Hopkins
When Joe Smith Jr. faced Bernard Hopkins, 'The Alien' was 49 years old and was coming off a 12-round decision loss to Sergey Kovalev. Despite previously winning multiple world titles, Hopkins was in the latter stages of his career and retired shortly after being knocked out by Smith.
In contrast, Beterbiev is at the peak of his career. The Russian-born Canadian resident is 37 years old but has appeared very impressive in recent years by claiming wins over Oleksandr Gvozdyk, Adam Deines and Marcus Browne.
Watch the fight highlights between Beterbiev and Gvozdyk:
Furthermore, unlike Hopkins, Beterbiev is a massive light heavyweight who competed in the heavyweight division as an amateur. He famously lost to Oleskandr Usyk at the 2012 Olympics.
Therefore, the boxer from Russia is seen by many as a much harder opponent than Hopkins. 'The Common Man' will have to produce the best performance of his career if he is to cause another massive upset. The winner of Beterbiev-Smith Jr. is likely to face Dmitry Bivol this year or the next for the undisputed light heavyweight crown.
