Callum Smith blames his loss to unified lightweight champion Artur Beterbiev on being out of the ring for 17 months and not having a fight for 5 to 6 weeks in camp for their January 13 clash.
Beterbiev Loss Fallout
In that fight, everything went wrong for Smith (30-2, 22 KOs). He was knocked out in seven rounds by Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) and made him look like an average fighter.
Callum bounced back from that loss, knocking out little-known Colombian journeyman Carlos Galvan (20-15-2, 19 KOs) in the fifth round on November 30 last year.
Next up for Smith, 34, is interim WBO lightweight champion Joshua Buatsi on Feb. 22 on the Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 undercard in Riyadh. If Callum can win this fight against the undefeated Bouachi (19-0, 13 KOs), he could earn a possible shot at the winner of the Beterbiev-Bivol 2 rematch.
Few boxing fans believe Smith will defeat the tough 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Bouachi. Bouachi can punch, has a strong chin and is aggressive. In his last fight, he went through pure hell, defeating Willy Hutchinson by a 12-round decision on September 21 at Wembley Stadium in London.
Hutchinson, who is not known for being a bit of a hitter, hurt Buachi several times in the fight by just staying in the fight and constantly landing shots on him. However, there were times when it looked like Bouachi was on the verge of knocking him out. The shots that Joshua hit Hutchinson with in this fight would probably have been too much for Callum and he would surely have folded.
No more excuses
“I hate fighters who make excuses, but I had 17 months out of the ring, after which you think, ‘I’m going to get a lot of sparring,’ but I didn’t. I didn’t do any racing for five or six weeks before. I didn’t prepare that well,” Callum Smith told Sky Sports Boxing about why he lost to unified lightweight champion Artur Beterbiev last year on January 13.
“So the preparation was not ideal. I was out of the ring for 17 months. I really couldn’t afford to put it off again and have it two years out of the ring. That was the challenge. He had the belts, he was the champion. You live and learn.
“I thought I was going to get it right on the night and I didn’t. I lost the race and paid the price. I left and assessed what went wrong. I believe I haveIt got fixed, I’ve gotten better and I’m a better fighter because of it, Smith said.
It certainly sounds like Calum is justifying his loss. Well, I guess he has to say something to try to understand what happened to him in his loss to Beterbiev. It’s called “ego protection.”
“I didn’t do any sparring for five or six weeks before” 🗣️
Callum Smith talks about his loss to Arthur Beterbiev. pic.twitter.com/4j3CdyWOd7
— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) January 14, 2025
2025-01-14 17:01:00
