Don’t miss the fight between Artur Beterbiev and Joe Smith Jr., Saturday at 10 p.m., on RDS2 and Sportish.

MONTREAL – Since he began his career in the professional ranks, Artur Beterbiev has beaten every opponent he has faced before the limit. Seventeen times in as many fights, Christian Gauthier or no other announcer in the world has had to maintain any suspense to announce the winner of a duel featuring the Montrealer of Russian origin.

From Christian Cruz to Marcus Browne via ex-world champions Tavoris Cloud and Oleksandr Gvozdyk, Beterbiev (17-0, 17 KOs) has always found the flaw that ended up breaking them. This is the 2nd longest active streak of its kind behind the 18 K.-O. in as many outings by Vergil Ortiz Jr., who does not yet have a championship fight to his credit.

But that incredible streak could come to an end on Saturday night, when unified WBC and IBF light heavyweight champion takes on WBO champion Joe Smith Jr. in a unification bout held Saturday night at the legendary Madison Square Theater. Garden in New York.

It is true that Smith (28-3, 22 KOs) has already been stopped once, but it was at the start of his career in his seventh duel, by a certain Eddie Caminero who had fractured his cheek in the second. round. “It was a broken cheek. It’s really pocket. What do you want me to tell you? “recalled Smith during an interview with the columnist ofESPN Mark Kriegel.

That was August 2010. History repeated itself several years later in July 2017 against Sullivan Barrera. On the strength of his victory over Bernard Hopkins, Smith had sent Barrera to the floor in the first round, except that the Cuban then hit him solidly in the second.

“I knew instantly it was fractured,” Smith said. But this time, the context was completely different. The shock was not organized in a small, modest room in Brooklyn. No, it was at the Inglewood Forum and widely broadcast on HBO.

“I thought I wasn’t going to give up,” Smith continued. If this is to be my last fight, I’m going to finish it standing on my own two legs. And I’m still here. I am still here. »

The former blue collar worker who now owns his tree pruning business is one of three division champions. He joined Beterbiev and Dmitrii Bivol in April 2021, after beating Maxim Vlasov. The victory was hard won by majority decision of the judges.

“At some point in the fight, I went back to the corner after one round and said to [mon entraîneur] jerry [Capobianco] that I didn’t know how I was going to get there to win,” Smith said during a recent episode of the documentary. Blood, Sweat and Tears ofESPN.

“The fractured cheeks, the defeat [à mon premier combat de championnat du monde] facing Bivol… all that came to mind. It’s not true that I had endured all that to not manage to become world champion. I really wanted to become world champion. »

The pitfalls are not exclusive to Smith, however. Even if he has never suffered defeat, Beterbiev has known his. Who doesn’t remember the terrible cut he had on his forehead during his last fight against Browne last December at the Bell Centre?

As Beterbiev began to find his stride, an accidental header turned his clash into a bloodbath from the 4th round. Faced with the threat that the duel would be stopped at any moment, the unified champion had no choice but to put pressure on his rival. He finally won by referee stoppage at the start of the 9th round.

The only thing that could possibly get the better of Beterbiev is the wear and tear of time. At 37, there will inevitably come a day when he will see his performance slowly decline…

“Why do you remind me that I’m 37?” Beterbiev asked mockingly Thursday afternoon at a press conference. I continually ask my trainer [Marc Ramsay] and my physical trainer [André Kulesha] if I do less than two years ago. And they tell me no, quite the contrary, that I even do more than two years ago! »

“He really looks like he’s 100 per cent,” Smith even confirmed. Age does not catch up with him! »

Casually, it’s the first time since the beginning of his career that Smith, who is from Long Island, will have the chance to fight in World’s Most Famous Arena. An element that is certainly to be taken into account regarding his desire to finish the fight on his two legs. For Beterbiev, who will also have a first at MSG, it will be a duel like any other.

“It’s an important fight, but the place where it is presented does not change absolutely anything for me, concluded Beterbiev. Montreal, New York or anywhere else…it’s the same thing!

“My goal is to be the best in the world and add another belt. That’s all! »