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PHILADELPHIA, UNITED STATES – OCTOBER 19, 2019: IBF belt-holder Artur Beterbiev of Russia celebrates victory in a light heavyweight world title unification boxing fight against WBC titlist Oleksandr Gvozdyk of Ukraine (not pictured) at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Valery Sharifulin/TASS (Photo by Valery SharifulinTASS via Getty Images)
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PHILADELPHIA, UNITED STATES – OCTOBER 19, 2019: IBF belt-holder Artur Beterbiev of Russia celebrates victory in a light heavyweight world title unification boxing fight against WBC titlist Oleksandr Gvozdyk of Ukraine (not pictured) at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Valery Sharifulin/TASS (Photo by Valery SharifulinTASS via Getty Images)
The stunning knockout produced by Artur Beterbiev over Joe Smith Jr this weekend impressed UFC star Khamzat Chimaev. Following the victory of the undefeated Russian pugilist, Chimaev took to a social media platform and penned two words for the champ.
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He wrote, “@arturbeterbiev the best.”
Along with this, the UFC welterweight competitor also shared a video clip of the decisive round.
Certainly, Beterbiev’s performance deserves words of praise for stopping Smith Jr. in the second round.
Highlights of the fight between Artur Beterbiev and Joe Smith Jr.
The 37-year-old stalwart is one of the biggest draws in boxing. On Saturday, he stepped inside the ring to unify WBO, WBC, and IBF titles in the light heavyweight class. The undefeated Russian was the favorite, but the performance he delivered in the ring was beyond expectations. As the fight started, Beterbiev looked sharp, and it only took him two rounds to seize the WBO title.
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PHILADELPHIA, UNITED STATES – OCTOBER 19, 2019: Artur Beterbiev of Russia poses with the IBF and WBC belts as he celebrates victory in a light heavyweight IBF-WBC world title unification boxing fight against Oleksandr Gvozdyk of Ukraine (not pictured) at the Liacouras Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Valery Sharifulin/TASS (Photo by Valery SharifulinTASS via Getty Images)
Within two rounds, the champ scored three knockdowns as he dominated every fraction of the fight. Moreover, the shots he landed on Smith Jr. were lethal. The power and accuracy were so on point that it wounded Smith Jr. enough to put him away within 2 rounds. Smith Jr. tried hard to gather himself, but it was too late. The ultimate combination of left uppercut followed by hooks finally forced the referee to intervene and stop the action-packed drama.
This win took Beterbiev to 18-0 as a professional.
After the fight, Beterbiev said, “Joe is a little bit open, and it was more easy for me to get him. I’ve had two unification fights and unification fights are more interesting. I prefer to unify. I want to be undisputed.”
Certainly, after unifying three belts, Beterbiev’s eyes are on the fourth belt. Before becoming undisputed, he has to face the WBA titleholder Dmitry Bivol.
Watch This Story: Artur Beterbiev vs. Joe Smith Jr. Stats: Record, Height, Reach, and Knockout Ratio
What do you think of Chimaev’s words of praise for Beterbiev? Let us know in the comments below.
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Ajinkya Aswale