Beterbiev vs Smith LIVE: Results as champion drops and stops Briton in round seven

Next up, Jason Moloney defends the WBO bantamweight title against Saul Sanchez.

Australia’s Moloney is making his ring walk now, to the sound of “Down Under” by Men At Work. Lovely.

Eddie Hearn, who promotes Smith, live from the arena: “Absolutely confident, we know it’s a tough fight, but this is it: This is the away day. You know when you’re on the train with your mates, just a few of you?

“Now it’s showtime, the real business, the hurt business. It’s gonna be a violent fight in there. They’ve given us a nice, small [18ft] ring tonight, and I think that’s good for us. You have to get [Beterbiev’s] respect early. This fight has to be over in eight or nine rounds.

“The guy’s a monster, you’ve got to chop him down early. You’ve got to take him out; if you don’t, you’re not winning this fight.

“This is knockout win or go home empty handed.”

As we wait for the next bout, here’s a bit more from Steve Bunce on tonight’s main event...

“Beterbiev won the first of his world titles in 2017, has made seven defences and so far, he has knocked out, dropped, hurt, bludgeoned, cut and ruined every single one of the 19 men he has met in the ring. It is not uncommon for a boxer, with the protection of matchmakers, to compile a record like that in easy fights on undercards, but it is uncommon for a man to keep knocking out opponents at the highest level. Beterbiev has good names on his record, make no mistake.

“Smith has lost just once in 30 fights and that was on the road in Texas, over 12 rounds, to Saul “Canelo” Alvarez; Smith injured a bicep, Canelo controlled the fight. It was not a slugfest; it was not a beating. Smith left the discomfort of the super-middleweight division after that loss, giving up on his life-long battle with the scales, to join the light-heavyweight division. He has won two fights quickly since moving up in weight after the loss to Canelo in 2020.”

Full fight preview:

Round 2

Khataev starts this round on the front foot, before Ludwiczak bows his head and throws a blind overhand in a bid to get the Russian off him.

Still Khataev comes forward. Ludwiczak is breathing heavily and struggling to keep his hands up. He musters a good left hook, but he’s soon dropped to a knee!

He’s quickly back up and buys a bit of time as his mouthguard is put back in. Immediately he’s under pressure from Khataev, who is unfurling hooks off both wings and mixing in uppercuts...

It’s an onslaught against the ropes, and the referee steps in! Khataev gets it done at 2:17 in round two!

Round 1

Both men stand orthodox. Khataev times a nice left hook, early doors. And again.

He’s hunting Ludwiczak, who throws his own counter left hook but eats a trio of body shots.

Khataev with a hook to the body then one to the head, a nice quickfire combination. Ludwiczak fires back now, getting on the front foot before covering up as Khataev unloads his latest barrage.

Ludwiczak stumbles backwards – he’s wobbly already... Nice shot variation from Khataev, who may just sense an early finish.

Ludwiczak shows great resilience to produce some more output, though.

Khataev jabs to the body, then head, then body, then head.

We kick things off with a light-heavyweight bout between Imam Khataev and Michael Ludwiczak, who is replacing Rodolfo Gomez Jr on short notice.

Ten rounds scheduled here!

Beterbiev has looked beatable in previous fights, he has been caught and dropped, but he finds a way to win. He always finds a way to win. At 38 he is, naturally, heading towards the end of his career, but he has only had eight world-title fights in just over six years – he is looking after his health and his tank. He is a smart man on both sides of the ropes.

Smith can box, he can bang, and he has a great chin. Beterbiev will need Smith to get involved in the type of hard, hard fight he likes; Smith is not a fool, and this could end with a glorious British victory. It might not always be pretty, but it might just be smart.

Full fight preview:

Artur Beterbiev (C) vs Callum Smith (WBC, WBO and IBF light-heavyweight titles)

Jason Moloney (C) vs Saul Sanchez (WBO bantamweight title)

Christian Mbilli vs Rohan Murdock (super-middleweight)

Imam Khataev vs Michael Ludwiczak (light-heavyweight)

Christopher Guerrero vs Sergio Garcia Herrera (welterweight)

Mehmet Unal vs Dragan Lepei (light-heavyweight)

Leila Beaudoin vs Elizabeth Chavez Espinoza (women’s super-featherweight)

Moreno Fendero vs Victor Hugo Flores (super-middleweight)

Wilkens Mathieu vs TBA (super-middleweight)

Beterbiev – 2/9

Smith – 10/3

Draw – 16/1

Via Betway.

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In the UK, the event will air live on Sky Sports Arena and Sky Sports Main Event. It will also stream live on the broadcaster’s website and Sky Go app. In the US, ESPN+ will stream the fights live.