Marc Ramsay on Beterbiev-Smith

Trainer Marc Ramsay is preparing for one of the biggest fights of his career on June 18th. His fighter, light heavyweight Artur Beterbiev, will face fellow titlist Joe Smith Jr. at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden. Three belts will be on the line. The matchup presents a battle of perhaps the two biggest punchers in the division. Unified titlist Beterbiev (17-0, 17 KOs) has yet to go the distance in a professional fight. Smith (28-3, 22 KOs) will be making his second title defense and he'll be fighting just a few miles away from his Long Island home. 

For the Montreal-based trainer Ramsay, Beterbiev-Smith is a fight that motivates him. He's trained multiple titleholders such as Jean Pascal and Eleider Alvarez, but he's never had an undisputed champion and Beterbiev's battle with Smith can get him one step closer to that illustrious goal. 

Photo courtesy of Marc Ramsay

Ramsay is more than familiar with Smith, having studied him extensively over the last few years. Alvarez lost to Smith by KO in 2020. In that fight, Smith turned in the most well-rounded performance of his career and impressed with not just his power but his fundamental boxing skills. Not only has Ramsay faced Smith in the opposing corner, but he's had ample time to consider Smith against Beterbiev; the matchup has been on the table at numerous points over the last 18 months.

I spoke with Ramsay this week about the upcoming matchup, his scouting report on Smith, training camp, and his reflections on a couple of important bouts in Beterbiev's career. 

Interview conducted by Adam Abramowitz:

This interview has been edited for clarity. 

Marc, thank you for your time today. How would you assess Beterbiev's last performance against Marcus Browne?

Pretty good. The only thing is that we were planning to start the fight slow and be careful, especially defensively, because Marcus is very fast and a good boxer. We wanted to take our time to break him down. But the cut, that changed the whole thing. When that cut happened, we could not take our time anymore. That fight could have been stopped at any moment and we had to rush a little bit. But our planning was to put progressive pressure on him round by round; we just needed to work a little bit faster.

Were you impressed with Artur’s poise in handling the cut?

Yes, but he’s always very calm under pressure. However, when he came back to the corner, I could see that he was mad. Mad, but under control. Aggressive, but still he was listening. I explained to him that we have a job to do for the cut and you have a job to do in the ring. If everybody’s focused on their job, then everything is going to be fine. Just focus on the tactics that we prepared for that fight, and he followed them.

The fight with Joe Smith has been rumored for a long time. I know it had been discussed in the past. Why didn’t it happen previously?

I don’t know. They had talked to us a couple of times about the fight. But we never really went deep in negotiations with them. They would talk about it, and after that there was a mandatory fight with Marcus Browne and then Joe Smith fought Steve Geffrard. It was just a question of negotiations.

You’re very familiar with Joe Smith. You faced him before with Eleider Alvarez, who lost by knockout. In that fight, Smith showed a lot of boxing skills and some new wrinkles that he often hadn’t displayed before. What were your impressions of Smith in that fight?

People say a lot of stuff about Joe Smith, but the guy is a world champion and he’s a world champion for a reason. Like everybody knows, he’s very physically strong. Good punch. He’s got balls. He can box also. He’s a complete fighter and we respect him a lot. This is nothing personal, but our objective is to take all of the straps, and he has one of them.

Did he surprise you or Alvarez in that fight?

Not really. We already knew that Joe Smith comes to the fight with his "A" game. Alvarez didn’t have a great training camp at that time and I was already starting to talk with him about retirement. That’s not the best angle to start a training camp and go for a fight of that magnitude. No, Joe Smith was the Joe Smith that I know.

What is Joe Smith's best attribute in the ring?

He’s very good at putting pressure. But what he’s doing, he's doing every fight. I don’t want to say he’s a one-way fighter, but as I said, Joe Smith is Joe Smith. It’s very classic. It’s not something new. It’s a lot of pressure. It’s a lot of balls. Good power...He’s very effective at what he does. He doesn’t look like he has a bad night. Joe Smith is going to bring it to you. And I respect that a lot, but Artur Beterbiev to me is another level of boxer.

The last time Beterbiev faced a huge slugger was, in my opinion, Callum Johnson and Artur was dropped early in that fight before he rallied. What happened in that fight and did he take Johnson’s power for granted?

No, It’s a question of professional boxing. At some point you’re going to get hit. He got caught by a good shot. He got off the floor. He came back to the corner and we explained to him: Don’t put yourself at the level of your opponent. You can outbox that guy. Just focus on good boxing. And he was able to come back in that fight. It was very simple.

Was Beterbiev ever hurt in that fight?

It was a good shot. He was hurt a little bit from the punch when he went down. You know, Arthur has very good conditioning, good legs, resistance, and everything. As I was saying, it’s professional boxing. This stuff can happen. But it’s how you react after that happens which is most important.

For this training camp did Beterbiev do his strength and conditioning work in Russia before coming to Canada or did he do his entire camp in Canada?

He always does a pre-camp in high altitude in Russia. He went there, he trained and he came back for an eight-week training camp with me.

Is there anybody that you’ve been using in camp as a sparring partner that has particularly impressed you?

We have about six guys. I won’t name them because that could tell you the direction I want to take the fight. We’ve had very good sparring. We have guys with top rankings in our camp, very good boxers. And I’m very happy. For the Marcus Browne fight, the restrictions to come to Canada were so tough and it was tough to get quality sparring partners from outside of the country...It’s been way easier for this training camp. And we have had much higher quality sparring.

Beterbiev is about to have the biggest fight of his career, headlining at Madison Square Garden. I know that it’s been a long road for him, with injuries and several periods of inactivity. But now that he’s here, what's been his mindset in camp going into this fight?

Artur is emotionally very stable. He’s not a guy who's going to be overanxious or overexcited or is going to crack under pressure. He’s very stable, but it’s still a fight at Madison Square Garden. It’s a big fight and I can see his enthusiasm about training and about realizing the objective that we have, to take the WBO title. For a fight like this, you can see the fighter pushing a little bit more.   

Artur Beterbiev is associated with knockouts, but he has a significant boxing foundation. He was a strong amateur and can do a lot of different things in the ring. Are there aspects of his boxing ability that he (or you) decides to use for some opponents more than others?

You know what’s fun about being the trainer of Artur is that he’s a very good boxer and he can do a little bit of everything. He can box. He can put pressure. He can slug. We’ve done all of that already. I remember when we fought Tavoris Cloud, who was also a pressure fighter and a powerful guy. Everybody was expecting Artur to move around, but for that fight we determined that we were stronger. We had a better defense. We wanted to play fire against fire to start the fight. After that first round, we could see that Tavoris Cloud had nothing left in the tank. It was too much. We were beating him at his own game.

We have the option to do that [fire against fire], but we also have the option of boxing. We have many options with Artur, because he is a complete fighter.

What does this fight mean for you and your career?

It means a lot. A fighter or a coach will always try to motivate himself and challenge himself for new objectives. I have world champions, but right now this is another step. Having a unified champion and making sure we will get not only three but maybe four [titles]...this is the objective. This keeps motivating the boxer and also the coach.

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook. 

Punch 2 the Face Podcast

In this week's Punch 2 the Face Radio, Brandon and I recapped a busy boxing weekend, including Jaron Ennis, Smith-Vlasov, Stanionis, Ancajas, Top Rank's heavyweight prospects, and Benn. We also previewed Andrade-Williams, Harrison-Perrella and Prograis-Redkach. Also, we talked about Triller's entrance into boxing and highlighted some big fights coming up for the spring. To listen to the show, click on the links below:

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Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com.

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.

Opinions and Observations: Smith, Ennis, Stanionis, Ancajas

When Joe Smith Jr. defeated Eleider Alvarez last year, the quality of his performance demonstrated a metamorphosis in his career. No longer just a crude banger, Smith outboxed an excellent boxer. He worked off the jab and used angles and purposeful footwork to set up shots. Initially offering little more than heavy hands and desire early in his career, now he had finally become a well-schooled fighter.  

On Saturday, Smith had the opportunity to win a vacant light heavyweight belt against Maxim Vlasov, and none of his recent refinements made the trip to Tulsa. From the first moment of the fight, he was winging wild power shots and often missing badly, looking like a guy having a bar fight at two in the morning. His jab was non-existent. He recklessly squared up to throw punches, which created easy target practice for Vlasov. In addition, Smith's feet didn't seem under him. He was having balance issues during large portions of the fight.  

Smith (left) tries to defend a Vlasov right hand
Photo courtesy of Mikey Williams

Ultimately, Smith's poor form can be attributed to two factors: He thought he would knock out Vlasov with ease, or he didn't train properly (of course these two things could be related). Vlasov recently had COVID and perhaps there was a belief that he would be less than 100% for the fight. In addition, Smith just got married and naturally that change can lead to a break from tried-and-true habits. But perhaps Smith was believing his headlines a little too much after knocking out Alvarez.   

Vlasov started the fight completely prepared for his opponent. He was in-and-out, side-to-side, never in one place for too long. But he wasn't running; he was always near Smith, so he could land from unpredictable angles and counter when Smith missed. Vlasov didn't try to load up with shots. He mostly featured "touch" right hands, but he did mix in some more punishing uppercuts and venomous crosses as the fight continued. And he was having so much success early in the fight that he was even backing up Smith, a successful example of bullying the bully. 

Until the final third of the fight, Smith often looked befuddled in the ring. But it must be said that there were a number of rounds where Smith was getting comprehensively outboxed and then he would land a straight right to the head or a body shot that would hurt Vlasov so significantly that Maxim would stop throwing punches. Vlasov had a poor poker face during those moments; everyone watching knew how badly affected he was. These rounds made for some interesting scoring decisions in that Vlasov was very much fighting his fight, but Smith would land big punches – a case of ring generalship vs. clean, effective punching.  

Smith closed the fight well. Whereas his big shots connected sporadically throughout the first half of the fight, by the end the heavy artillery was landing far more frequently. Vlasov was significantly hurt in the 11th round, but a rabbit punch allowed him to take a lengthy breather. Smith also turned on the jets in the 12th and he demonstrated that his determination, heart and right hand were still present, even if his considerable boxing skills were not.  

Ultimately Smith won by a majority decision: 115-112, 115-113 and 114-114. I scored it 115-113 for Vlasov, but I understood that Smith had a case for winning a close decision. It certainly wasn't Smith's cleanest performance. He won't want to watch the replay often. Still, it's always a nice story when a club fighter makes it to the world level and wins a title. 

Vlasov probably deserved better than what he received on the judges’ scorecards. He showed what upper body movement, feints, good feet and angles can do to a knockout artist that loads up on big shots. Vlasov was clever, tricky and determined. Ultimately the judges liked Smith's power a little bit better, but Vlasov performed ably.  

Smith could next face Artur Beterbiev in a unification fight. Although Beterbiev is among the hardest hitters in boxing, he presents none of the stylistic dilemmas that Vlasov did. Beterbiev-Smith would be a battle of whose chin holds up better. There's a risk that Smith could get knocked out there, but he won't have to deal with clever and cagey. Maybe he'll prefer that.  

*** 

Jaron "Boots" Ennis has not been a secret. He hails from Philadelphia, a city that has a seen a few things over the decades when it comes to its beloved boxing, and which features a fanbase that is not overly impressed with what's hot and new. Yet despite the cynicism of Philly fans, Ennis has been able to shatter that hard-heartedness. During his development fights, he created what seemed like universal support and affection among Philly's boxing enthusiasts. One can often hear Philly boxing fans (or even those in the city who ply their trade in the sport) rip this young fighter or that prospect, but when I've seen Ennis fight in Philly, I've never heard a negative word about him from anyone, which I'm sure qualifies as some sort of record. 

And despite not facing tough competition throughout his development fights, Ennis at 23 was already headlining a Showtime championship boxing card on Saturday. It didn't matter that there wasn't a championship on the line for his fight against welterweight contender Sergey Lipinets. It wasn't a case of Showtime boxing head Stephen Espinoza being too hasty. Similar to those Philly fight fans, the boxing execs trusted their eyes and had become believers. 

Jaron "Boots" Ennis (left) shoots a left hand
Photo courtesy of Amanda Westcott

The attributes that have made many boxing fans fall in love with Ennis were all in fine form on Saturday: the massive punch variety, the pinpoint accuracy, the freak athleticism, the seamless switching from southpaw to orthodox. But what really surprised me was Ennis' punching power. Yes, his final right hook/left uppercut combo in the sixth round will be replayed endlessly, but Ennis pasted Lipinets throughout the fight with hard stuff from all angles and multiple stances. It wasn't just that he landed with thudding blows, but that they had a real effect on a tough, durable fighter who had taken his fair share of heavy punches throughout his career.  

While all of Ennis' fancy stuff is important and vital in his overall package as a fighter, let's not forget that he has 25 knockouts in 27 fights. He's not one of these cuties with great skills who needs to fight in that style because of a lack of power. He can box brilliantly AND hurt an opponent, stop him, and end it quickly. 

Lipinets turned out to be the perfect opponent for Ennis. He was physical, did some grappling on the inside, dug to the body when he could, had nasty intent on his shots and took some big punches. Ultimately, Lipinets was outgunned, but he represented Ennis' first real test as a pro, a test in which he passed with flying colors.   

But if we're nitpicking, and let's nitpick for a second, Ennis does need to tighten up things defensively. Perhaps he has developed some bad habits against poor opposition. There were too many times where Lipinets was able to land a free shot on Ennis (usually a chopping right hand) to an area where there wasn't a glove anywhere nearby. Maybe Ennis thought that he was out of range, that his reflexes would allow him to avoid the shot, or that he had the chin to take it. Whatever the reason may be, it's not a good practice to give capable, hard-hitting welterweights free shots.  

I'm sure Ennis knows that he kicked some serious butt on Saturday, but what will he do when he sees "95" on his exam paper instead of "100"? Will he be satisfied with the result, or will he do what it takes to ace the next one? That answer will help determine his ultimate ceiling in the sport.  

***

Quietly, Lithuanian welterweight Eimantas Stanionis has plied his trade on smaller cards, beating solid pros such as Justin DeLoach and Levan Ghvamichava. In his 13th professional fight on Saturday he faced former junior welterweight title challenger Thomas Dulorme, a 30-bout veteran who had recently given strong work to Jamal James, Jessie Vargas and Yordenis Ugas in the welterweight division.  

And this was not a faded version of Dulorme that appeared on Saturday. Working with noted trainer Ismael Salas, Dulorme was well prepared for what Stanionis had to offer. Noticing a high guard, Dulorme went to Stanionis' body with lead power shots. Salas realized that Stanionis almost always worked off the jab, so he had his fighter move toward Stanionis' power hand, often a no-no, but here it was excellent advice. In addition, Dulorme was instructed not to stand in front of Stanionis and limit prolonged exchanges. Ultimately, Dulorme and Salas had the right game plan; it just didn't matter.  

Over the course of 12 grueling rounds, Stanionis was better able to assert himself in the ring. When Dulorme darted out of the pocket, Stanionis used excellent footwork to trap Dulorme and start another offensive attack. Although Dulorme constantly moved to Stanionis' right, it was Stanionis' jab that consistently landed throughout the fight. And even though Dulorme would have success with quick lead punches, Stanionis' counters were crisp, hard and effective.  

Stanionis would win via unanimous decision and while Dulorme asked many questions, Stanionis had enough answers. Although there are more hyped young welterweights in the sport than Stanionis (Ennis and Vergil Ortiz, for example), his performance on Saturday demonstrated that he too has world-class skills.  

Some of the issues that Dulorme and Salas exposed are areas that Stanionis must continue to improve upon. He can be predictable with his offensive approach and he will need to mix in more lead right hands and lead left hooks. And it's true that his defensive guard can be a little too high. 

Stanionis landed many of his best shots throughout the fight, but he wasn't able to knock out or even seriously hurt Dulorme, who has been chinny throughout his career. Although Stanionis has an almost 70% knockout ratio, he doesn't seem to be a one-punch KO guy; he grinds down opponents over time with pressure and incisive punching.  

A smart fighter with a number of solid tools, Stanionis is going to be a tough night at the office for any opponent. However, it's an open question as to whether he has anything that could be considered sublime. The welterweight division historically has featured many of the top fighters in the sport and the present with Crawford, Spence and Pacquiao is a further continuation of this trend. Being very good often isn't good enough, not at 147. We shall see.  

***

Jerwin Ancajas is not a beloved fighter. After impressing in his early title defenses, he did two things that led to antipathy in many corners of the boxing world: he turned down big fights and his performance level started to drop. Unfortunately for Ancajas, he finds himself in the junior bantamweight division, where titleholders like Juan Estrada and Kazuto Ioka have recently faced much bigger challenges, and former champions Roman Gonzalez and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai are constantly hunting big game. They all want to prove themselves against the best, and I'm not sure that Ancajas has felt similarly. 

Ancajas, from the Philippines, and a protege of Manny Pacquiao, recently aligned with the PBC and kicked off Saturday's Showtime broadcast against unheralded but capable Jonathan Rodriguez of Mexico. And they went to war.

Ancajas (left) connecting with a straight left hand
Photo courtesy of Amanda Westcott

Ancajas won via a unanimous decision and the fight was a fantastic watch, with brutal back-and-forth action. Ancajas' offense was eye-catching. He dug to the body mercilessly with right hooks. He displayed a ferocious and varied offensive attack. 

But his faults were still there to see. Noticing that Ancajas leaned over his front foot, Rodriguez pasted him with right uppercuts. Seeing that Ancajas' glove positioning was a mess, he landed consistently with straight and looping right hands. 

Furthermore, after knocking down Rodriguez during an impressive eighth round assault, Ancajas was unable to get the stoppage despite Rodriguez looking like he was ready to go at multiple points. And despite being physically depleted, Rodriguez was actually the fighter who seemed to close better in the championship rounds.  

Saturday's version of Ancajas was a lot of fun, and fun is always welcome in boxing. But this is not a division to fool around in. There are real threats at 115 lbs., Hall of Famers at or still close to their peak, and menacing contenders. If Ancajas can't perfect his defensive shortcomings, or figure out how to stop a wounded fighter, his title reign will wind up being remembered for much more quantity than quality. He's now at nine title defenses and counting, a formidable number for sure, but the names are nowhere near as impressive as that number. And we probably know why that has been the case.  

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com.

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.

Opinions and Observations: Whyte-Povetkin, Alvarez-Smith

A boxing match contains hundreds of sequences where each fighter attempts to assert supremacy over his or her opponent. Whether it's to land a shot, block a punch, counter, leave the pocket unscathed, find a way to rest, clinch, or perform a number of other maneuvers; in each moment, most often, only one fighter will prevail.

The concluding sequence of Alexander Povetkin's unforgettable fifth-round knockout of Dillian Whyte was one such moment, and one of the best knockouts in recent heavyweight boxing. Povetkin initiated the action with a throw-away left jab. Immediately after throwing the punch, he started dipping to his left; he knew what was coming. By the time Whyte had missed his ineffectual counter right hand, Povetkin had already maneuvered his 40-year old body under and to the side of Whyte's right arm, his last line of protection. Povetkin had now put himself in a perfect position to land a free shot. And he unspooled a devastating left uppercut against a defenseless Whyte. That was the fight. Game over. 

Photo Courtesy of Mark Robinson

Ultimately the sequence demonstrated Povetkin's mastery over his opponent. Like a chess master, the entire sequence played out in his mind before he initiated a single move. He knew what to expect and how to position his body to get the free shot. It was a perfect example of Ring IQ. Povetkin understood how to defeat the opponent in front of him. And despite being 40 years old and physically on the slide, he still possessed the agility, reflexes and timing to execute. 

What made the knockout even more stunning was the action in the previous round, where Whyte had dropped Povetkin twice with left hands (a hook and then an uppercut). In truth, those weren't even Whyte's best power shots, but Povetkin's punch resistance had looked poor throughout the fight. He seemed unsteady at a few points earlier in the fight, and especially vulnerable whenever Whyte landed his right hand to the temple.

Until the final sequence in the fifth, Whyte had fought ably. Featuring a contained offensive approach that didn't allow Povetkin to get off too many counters, Whyte was effectively opportunistic with his output: a few jabs here, some nice right hands there, a left hook to remind Povetkin of his power. He was gradually breaking down his opponent in a responsible way. 

The ultimate distinction between the two boxers was that Povetkin had actualized and executed a clever boxing move for which Whyte was unprepared. The final sequence reminded me of Jermall Charlo's win over Julian Williams, where Charlo blocked a punch and then countered with a right uppercut at the perfect moment against an unprotected opponent. It was a superior boxing move, as was Povetkin's. These are the types of moves that cement world-class status. It's the combination of ring intelligence, daring, physical talent, reflexes and execution. It would be unfair to call Whyte's performance poor on Saturday, but there was no doubt that he was bettered in a pivotal exchange, and one exchange can often be all that it takes in boxing. 

Photo Courtesy of Mark Robinson

At his advanced age and a veteran of many wars in the ring, Povetkin most likely won't have too many more nights like Saturday's. He's undersized against the top of the division. His physical dimensions force him to win fights on the inside, which invites oncoming fire from hard-hitting opponents. And he certainly didn't look like he was taking shots well against Whyte. 

But whatever else occurs throughout the rest of Povetkin's career, he has created an indelible moment for himself, and for boxing as a whole. And let's make no mistake; the sport needs these moments. Badly. 

Few modern heavyweights would be able to come back from being dropped twice to win a fight in the next round. And even in a state of physical decline, Povetkin demonstrated an acute boxing brain and an ability to focus under extreme duress. He also reminded the boxing industry that fights are still won in the ring. Underestimate a capable opponent at your own peril. And if you're a boxer in tough looking ahead to future matchups, you very well could find yourself looking up at the rafters, or in this case, the constellations on a clear summer's night. 

***      

When Joe Smith Jr. arrived on the boxing scene in a meaningful way, he was a little-known, 26-year-old club fighter from Long Island who worked construction. He was no one's idea of a prospect. He was brought in to lose against Andrzej Fonfara, who was in the middle of a nice run in the top-ten of the light heavyweight division. Smith was thought to be tough, a possessor of a decent punch, but not much more. By the end of 2016, he had destroyed Fonfara in one round and sent the legend Bernard Hopkins crashing out of the ring through the ropes and into retirement. Hopkins was hit so hard, and shaken up so much that he legitimately thought that some kind of foul must have occurred. 

But in recent years, Smith's technical limitations, especially on defense, were exposed by Sullivan Barrera and Dmitry Bivol. Despite dropping Barrera early in their fight, Sullivan broke Smith's jaw in the second round. Smith demonstrated his toughness by lasting to the final bell, but after the jaw injury, he wasn't a factor throughout the rest of the bout. And with the exception of a flurry late in the fight, Smith had few answers for Bivol's movement and polished boxing skills. 

On Saturday, Smith was facing Eleider Alvarez, a former champion who had excellent boxing skills, sneaky power and a sturdy chin. The conventional wisdom surrounding the fight was that Alvarez had the superior technical boxing skills and was the all-around better talent, but that Smith certainly had the punching power and activity rate to give Alvarez problems. However, the more that Smith came forward, the more opportunities that provided Alvarez to land his blistering counters. 

But after watching Saturday's fight, there wasn't one thing that Alvarez did better than Smith. Not a single thing. In a shocking development, Smith outboxed Alvarez, with new-look moves and sequences that belied his previous reputation as merely a "banger." He hooked off the jab, double jabbed his way into perfect punching range, threw lead left uppercuts in tight quarters, and blocked most of Alvarez's overhand rights. Smith demonstrated a level of polish in the ring on Saturday that he had never exhibited in previous fights. As Alvarez waited for the perfect opening to land a counter, Smith continued to punch at will, but he maintained his balance and rarely found himself out of position. To the surprise of Alvarez, there was little that was crude with Smith's work. 

Counterpunchers often invite volume because it can lead to opportunities and openings. However, when that volume is educated, piercing and unpredictable, the counterpuncher will find himself in a world of shit, and that is what happened to Alvarez in the ninth round when suddenly he found himself through the ropes and unable to continue. A Smith howitzer of a right hand landed fully flush on Alvarez after the start of the round. Smith followed up with a hard left which made Alvarez's legs betray him. And Alvarez was done. 

Photo Courtesy of Mikey Williams

Eleider Alvarez did have a signature victory in his career with his knockout win over Sergey Kovalev to win a light heavyweight title. However, there should have been a lot more highs in his career. Unfortunately, he spent the majority of his peak years as a fighter who was unable to get big opportunities. In the same promotional stable with fellow Montreal fighters Jean Pascal and Adonis Stevenson, he was not the attraction that the other two were, and he also didn't possess their firepower or magnetism in the ring. He was a technical cutie that no one was in a rush to face. He often had to accept step-aside money from well-heeled players in the sport instead of getting a real opportunity to fight the best. (Ill-timed injuries also played a role throughout his career.) 

Alvarez is now 36 and as good as Smith looked last night it's also important to note that Alvarez just can't move like he used to. Eleider was once upon a time a mover in the ring, but watching him on Saturday, his transition to an older, stationary counterpuncher has now been completed. 

As sob stories go in the sport, Alvarez's isn't the worst one. He did get a title shot and made the most of his opportunity by winning that fight. However, his no-show in the Kovalev rematch cost him seven figures. In addition, had he had earlier opportunities, let's say against Stevenson, with whom he matched up well, he could be staring at a much larger bank account at the moment. But Alvarez was still fighting on Top Rank card on Saturday with the chance to get another title shot. A declining Povetkin found a way to perform at 40, a declining Alvarez could not at 36. 

As for Smith, it's exciting to see fighters, even veteran ones, add to their arsenal. Few would have surmised in 2016, or even 2019, that Joe Smith could outbox Eleider Alvarez, but that's precisely what happened. Earlier this year, Tyson Fury demonstrated his unwillingness to accept the label from others that he was best on the outside. He found a sympathetic trainer, perfected his inside fighting craft and bested Deontay Wilder in the trenches. Similarly, Smith refused to believe that all he could be in boxing was a crude banger. It's easy to accept these monikers and limitations, but it's not so simple for 30-year-olds to want to become something different in the ring. 

Smith realized that even the best version of his previous self in the ring, the wild right hands, the pulverizing hooks, was not the way to beat Alvarez. With this belief, he studied his opponent and implemented changes that he knew he needed to make to win. Prior to his fight with Hopkins, a prominent boxing scribe liked Smith's chances in the matchup, writing that Smith was too stupid to be intimidated by Hopkins's psychological tricks. I think that it's now time to throw out this old script for Smith. He's become much more than the boxing industry ever imagined. And he and his very small group of believers alone deserve the credit. Smith and his team have made a career out of being underestimated, but it's more than time for them to receive their just due. Under the guise of ordinary, something quite remarkable has happened: one of the best light heavyweights in the world. 

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com.

snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook. 

Punch 2 the Face Podcast

This week's Punch 2 the Face Podcast looked ahead to a jam-packed fight weekend. Brandon and I previewed Crawford-Horn, Santa Cruz-Mares II, Flanagan-Hooker and the return of Tyson Fury. We also discussed the IBF stripping Gennady Golovkin of his title and what this means for the middleweight division. Joe DeGuardia from Star Boxing also joined us to talk about what's next for Demetrius Andrade and Joe Smith Jr.

Click on the links below to listen:
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Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com. 

He's a member of Ring Magazine's Ring Ratings Panel and a Board Member for the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board. 

Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com.

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Showdown in the Light Heavyweight Division

Every now and then, a boxing division brims with a collection of impressive talents, featuring not just one or two potentially great fighters, but handfuls of hopefuls. This rare phenomenon is currently occurring in the 115-lb. division, where the likes of Inoue, Gonzalez, Srisaket, Estrada, Cuadras, Yafai, Ancajas and others are starting to battle for supremacy. 2018 promises to have a number of exciting fights within this grouping and boxing fans, and the industry as a whole, have started to take notice of a division usually reserved for deep undercard placements and off-TV fights in foreign lands. Suddenly, and almost without precedent, the boxing scene is looking forward with rapt attention to this assemblage of 115-lb. talents. 

Yes, the secret's out with the super flyweights, but perhaps by this time next year, the boxing world will feel similarly about another beleaguered weight class: the light heavyweight division. Unlike the super flyweights, the best at 175 lbs. have never had a problem gaining wide exposure in the sport, but there has been a generational issue with the lack of depth in the division. In the 20 years since Roy Jones won his first light heavyweight title, there have seldom been more than two top-tier talents fighting in the division at the same time. A quick glance at some of the names over the past two decades yields some impressive talents: Jones, Michalczewski (if you are so inclined) Tarver, Hopkins, Dawson, Kovalev and Ward. However, there's little depth behind that. I might like Montell Griffin or Glen Johnson as much as the next guy, but no one has ever confused either one with a great fighter. 

With Andre Ward's retirement earlier this year, the light heavyweight division (as well as his three title belts) has been opened up to an impressive collection of contenders. In similar scenarios – like what is happening in the junior welterweight division as a result of Terence Crawford moving up to welterweight – often the belts will wind up being disseminated to significantly lesser talents. But in the light heavyweight division, there are a number of intriguing candidates who could emerge as the alpha dog. Perhaps more importantly, the process of finding out who will be the number one guy will be loads of fun. In addition, these light heavyweights aren't just cuties; almost all are certified bangers. Boxing fans should be in for quite a treat if these talents meet in the ring. 

Before we fully start to salivate over the potentialities in the division, now should be the time for the obligatory reminder about the politics of boxing, promotional turfs, network difficulties and uncooperative fighters that often can deprive the sport of the best matches in a given weight class. (Adonis Stevenson somehow encapsulates or has represented all of these issues, what a guy.) But for now, let's speculate; let's dream. Let's discuss who could possibly emerge as the best light heavyweight.

It's July of 2018 and the World Boxing Super Series has just completed its successful inaugural set of tournaments, crowning Oleksandr Usyk and Chris Eubank Jr. as the winners of the Muhammad Ali Trophy. A newsflash comes across the boxing wires: the light heavyweight division will be selected for the 2017-2018 tournament; boxing fans rejoice and immediately start to speculate on whom will enter. 

What follows below are the eight fighters whom I would want in that tournament. Yes, it's certainly possible that not all will enter, so I'll include a couple of alternates. 

The Top Four Seeds: 

1. Sergey Kovalev

2. Adonis Stevenson

3. Dmitry Bivol

4. Artur Beterbiev

The Next Four 

Badou Jack

Oleksandr Gvozdyk

Sullivan Barrera

Eleider Alvarez

Alternates

Marcus Browne

Joe Smith Jr. 

Let me make a quick note on the seeding. It's clear from how the WBSS ranked the super middleweight division that current champions were seeded higher than non-title holders, regardless of potential or quality. Thus, Bivol and Beterbiev, who currently hold belts, will most likely be seeded in the top-four, irrespective of talent. 

As you can see, just the first round of this hypothetical tournament provides mouth-watering possibilities. Let's say the initial fights are as follows: Kovalev-Alvarez, Stevenson-Barrera, Bivol-Jack and Beterbiev-Gvozdyk (the top four seeds get to pick their opponents). Already, in just the opening matchups, we'll see fireworks a plenty. 

However, for the rest of this article, I'm not interested in predicting the outcomes of hypothetical matchups but I want to provide some additional depth on these fighters. A few in this group are household names to fight fans (Kovalev, Stevenson) while others are just starting to get known (Gvozdyk and Bivol). Below I'll list for each fighter some biographical information, descriptions of their style and strengths and weaknesses. 

Sergey Kovalev 

Record: 30-2-1 (26 KOs)

Age: 34

Country: Russia

Stance: Orthodox

Current Title: None

Next Fight: Nov. 25 against Vyacheslav Shabranskyy (for the vacant WBO title)

Style: A come-forward stalker with one of the best one-two's in the sport. 

Strengths: Straight right hand, jab.

Weaknesses: Mental temperament, out-of-the ring issues, conditioning.

Kovalev, a former unified champ in the division, lost his last two fights to Andre Ward; both featured their share of controversy. A clear majority of fight fans believed that Kovalev won their first fight. He earned a knockdown early in the match and controlled most of the bout's first half. The second fight was ruled a knockout for Ward despite Andre landing several low blows in the concluding salvo. With a more sympathetic ref, perhaps Kovalev gets time to recover in the ring and is allowed to keep fighting. Nevertheless, Kovalev was getting smacked around late in the fight and his conditioning was poor. 

Kovalev will have the opportunity to reclaim one of his former belts later this month against Shabranskyy, and he certainly should win that fight. Despite Kovalev's conditioning flaws and perhaps a lack of creativity, he is still one of the best knockout punchers in the sport and is capable of stopping anyone in the division. However, Kovalev hasn't lived a Spartan lifestyle out of the ring and he's in the middle of a trainer switch. If he's right, he's still a threat to anyone in the division and would probably be the favorite to win the tournament among this pool of fighters (keep in mind that bookies and gamblers often like known quantities). But can he recover from his losses? Will he acknowledge that he still has a lot to learn in the sport? Or will his arrogance and a desire to cut corners be his downfall?

Adonis Stevenson

Record: 29-1 (24 KOs)

Age: 40

Country: Canada by way of Haiti

Stance: Southpaw

Current Title: WBC, lineal king of the division

Next Fight: N/A

Style: An athletic, aggressive southpaw with one of the best left hands in boxing.  

Strengths: Straight left hand, left hook, jab, hand speed. 

Weaknesses: Chin, age, out-of-the-ring temperament.

Adonis Stevenson has been the WBC light heavyweight champion for over four years and has somehow found a way not to fight the two best talents in the division during that time frame, Kovalev and Ward. He's even avoided his mandatory challenger, Eleider Alvarez, for well over a year. Stevenson's victim list does include credible fighters like Andrzej Fonfara and Tony Bellew, but it's also composed of lesser talents like Dmitry Sukhotsky and Tommy Karpency. In truth, it would be a wild stretch to assume that Stevenson would enter a tournament like this one. He's already turned down significant offers and chances to prove his greatness. 

But let's say that Stevenson by some stroke of fancy decides to put it on the line. He's still a formidable fighter. His left hand can end anyone. In the ring, he appears to be a frontrunner. If one of the bangers from this group can survive the early rounds, Stevenson could be in real trouble. In addition, age has to catch up with Stevenson at some point. Very few fighters are major factors in their 40s. Can Stevenson put together three strong performances in a row at such an advanced age? 

Dmitry Bivol

Record: 12-0 (10 KOs)

Age: 26

Country: Russia by way Kyrgyzstan

Stance: Orthodox

Current Title: WBA

Next Fight: N/A

Style: Power puncher with excellent balance and punch technique.

Strengths: Multiple power punches, footwork, balance, punch placement. 

Weaknesses: Lack of professional rounds, weak competition.

A Russian amateur champion with an astounding record of 268-15 before turning pro, Bivol has recently emerged on the world level. He features ferocious punching power. His sterling boxing technique belies his 12 professional fights. With Bivol there's no wasted motion. Every punch has a purpose and he moves with a singular focus. He seemingly can knock people out without even landing his hardest shots. 

Despite Bivol's auspicious start in the pro ranks, there are still a number of unanswered questions regarding his ascension in light heavyweight division. What happens when someone can take his punch? Can he go 12 rounds? What is his defense like? As of now, much of this is speculation but Bivol certainly possesses the power and fundamentals to capture the imagination of the boxing public.

Artur Beterbiev

Record: 12-0 (12 KOs)

Age: 32

Country: Canada by way of Russia

Stance: Orthodox

Current Title: IBF

Next Fight: N/A

Style: A power puncher with a huge right hand. Not necessarily a top athlete but he is very good at applying pressure and cutting off the ring. 

Strengths: Punching power, right hand.

Weaknesses: Lack of professional rounds and experience, out-of-the-ring promotional problems.

Because of injuries and promotional issues, Beterbiev has only fought three times in the past 18 months. At 32, much of his prime has been wasted. Beterbiev turned in a listless performance against Enrico Koelling last Saturday. He threw very few combinations, didn't apply his customary pressure and displayed a curious lack of urgency. Although he won practically every round before stopping Koelling in the 12th, it was perhaps his worst outing as a professional. Beterbiev is embroiled in a lawsuit against his promoter, Yvon Michel. It's certainly possible that the out-of-the-ring drama played a role in his sub-optimal performance. There's also no sense of when he might fight next. We'll know more after his legal proceedings are complete. 

At his best, Beterbiev, a decorated amateur, obliterates opponents with his menacing right hand. However, like Bivol, he hasn't had the competition or experience with those at the top of the division. He's not the most athletic in this group and could struggle with boxers and movers. His punch will keep him in every fight but he doesn't seem to have the same fluidity of Bivol at this point in their respective careers. 

Badou Jack

Record: 22-1-2 (13 KOs)

Age: 34

Country: USA by way of Sweden

Stance: Orthodox

Current Title: None, although recently had a lesser WBA belt

Next Fight: N/A

Style: An aggressive banger who comes on later in fights. Jack applies tremendous pressure and wears down opponents in the second half.  

Strengths: Physicality, toughness, self-belief, inside fighting, body punching.

Weaknesses: Slow-starter, straight-line fighter, can be outworked early.

A little more than three years ago, Jack was an afterthought at the top levels of boxing. Having been iced be unheralded Derek Edwards in the first round, Jack was dismissed as a Mayweather Promotions hypejob. Well, Jack has proved his doubters wrong. He became a super middleweight champ and defeated George Groves in a notable fight. Earlier this year he fought to a spirited draw against fellow titleholder James DeGale. He subsequently moved up to light heavyweight and knocked out former champ Nathan Cleverly.

Jack appears to be at his ideal weight at light heavyweight. Although he's not the biggest puncher in this group, he certainly possesses the heavy artillery to threaten opponents. Jack's relentless dedication to body punching pays dividends as fights progress and few boxers are capable of mixing it up with him on the inside. Jack can be outworked on the outside and he can drop early rounds. Still, he's no one's idea of a picnic.

Oleksandr Gvozdyk

Record: 14-0 (12 KOs)

Age: 30

Country: Ukraine

Stance: Orthodox

Current Title: None

Next Fight: N/A

Style: An athletic boxer-puncher with great feet and rhythm in the ring. He's very tricky to time and throws unconventional combinations.  

Strengths: Athleticism, movement, punch variety, intelligence.

Weaknesses: Can be caught coming in and out. Takes a lot of risks in the ring. 

Gvozdyk announced himself on the world stage with impressive stoppages of Isaac Chilemba and Yunieski Gonzalez. A former Olympic medalist, Gvozdyk has a strong amateur pedigree and a unique pro-style. His legs make him very tricky to time and his ring generalship separates him from others in this pool of fighters. He can get a tad overconfident in the ring and he has learned to respect his opponents better. He moves so much in-and-out that he can leave himself vulnerable to long or sweeping shots. Still, his athleticism and unique ring style will present problems for the top fighters in the division. 

Sullivan Barrera

Record: 20-1 (14 KOs)

Age: 35

Country: USA by way of Cuba

Stance: Orthodox

Current Title: None

Next Fight: Nov. 25 against Felix Valera

Style: A boxer-puncher who is physical, crafty and also a little chinny. 

Strengths: Jab, right hand, physicality.

Weaknesses: Chin, defense during exchanges.

Barrera is an exciting fighter who has won a war against Shabranskyy (Kovalev's next opponent) and got off the canvas to defeat Joe Smith Jr. Last year he was overmatched against Andre Ward but against mere mortals, he has looked threatening. Barrera has good fundamentals. He features a nice double jab and a sneaky right hand. He can go to the body and he can display a good uppercut. Barrera likes to trade a little bit too much for his own good. Although he has the requisite toughness of a champion, his chin might not be at the same level. Expect him to engage in a few more shootouts against the better talent in the division. He could KO or get himself KO'ed against any top fighter. 

Eleider Alvarez

Record: 23-0 (11 KOs)

Age: 33

Country: Canada by way of Colombia

Stance: Orthodox

Current Title: None

Next Fight: N/A

Style: A boxer with tons of talent, athleticism and tools who can sleepwalk through portions of a fight.  

Strengths: Jab, left hook, combination punching, poise.

Weaknesses: Fights at one speed, can display a lack of urgency and focus. 

In any given round, Alvarez can look like an elite fighter. His jab can be a piston. He throws pinpoint combinations. His defense is sharp. He can hit opponents at will. However, keep watching. Suddenly, listlessness sets in. His punch volume drops. Guys he was comprehensively beating suddenly get off with their punches. He can be a maddening fighter. 

If you look at Alvarez's record, you'll already see two majority decisions that wound up going in his favor. Stuck in limbo as Adonis Stevenson's mandatory, Alvarez hasn't had many opportunities to face top fighters. There's a sense that he fights up or down to the level of his competition. If that's the case, then he can be a dark horse in this hypothetical tournament. But perhaps a more pressing problem for him is putting 12 consistent rounds together. 

Alternates:

Marcus Browne

Record: 20-0 (15 KOs)

Age: 27

Country: USA

Stance: Southpaw

Current Title: None

Next Fight: N/A

Style: An athletic, aggressive boxer-puncher who can be undisciplined in the ring, leaving himself open for counters 

Strengths: Straight left hand, hand speed, offensive temperament

Weaknesses: Defensive flaws, can be caught admiring his work, doesn't get out of the pocket fast enough. 

In Browne's most notable fight, he was lucky to score a victory against Radivoje Kalajdzic. In truth, he should've lost but sympathetic officials helped preserve his undefeated record. He rebounded nicely from that performance by knocking out Thomas Williams Jr. and Seanie Monaghan. Browne possesses the hand speed and power to trouble fighters in the upper echelon of the division. However, he also will give them opportunities. He tries to draw every fight into a shoot-out. He throws punches from wide angles and can be countered fairly easily. He also doesn't seem to have a high Ring IQ. When he needed a Plan B against Kalajdzic, one wasn't readily available. 

Joe Smith Jr.

Record: 23-2 (19 KOs)

Age: 28

Country: USA

Stance: Orthodox

Current Title: None

Next Fight: N/A

Style: A heavy-handed puncher who can be very basic in the ring.  

Strengths: Right hand, toughness, understands his strengths and weaknesses as a fighter.

Weaknesses: Athleticism, lack of creativity in the ring. 

Smith had memorable knockouts of Andrzej Fonfara and Bernard Hopkins in 2016. However, the party ended in 2017 against Sullivan Barrera. After knocking down Barrera in the first round, Smith struggled throughout the rest of the fight and wound up having his jaw broken. Smith possesses a strong right hand and he understands rudimentary boxing fundamentals. However, he's not a natural fighter. His hand speed is average and his offensive forays can be predictable. Still, his right hand is a real weapon. An opponent has to neutralize that punch to beat him. 

*

Ultimately, this light heavyweight tournament would bring excitement to the sport. Unlike the current WBSS contests, American TV networks most likely would jump to televise this pool of fighters. With the exception of Alvarez, all of the boxers mentioned have knockout ratios of over 50%. The tournament would promise ferocious power punching and memorable knockouts. In the real world, it's unlikely that all eight of the featured fighters would accept this invitation. But suppose all except Stevenson do? Even if only five or six of the top eight participate, that's still an exceptional tournament. 

It's possible that a full light heavyweight tournament fails to materialize. However, even if matches are kept in-house, that still could provide excitement. Imagine Kovalev-Bivol on HBO, Stevenson-Jack on Showtime or Beterbiev-Gvozdyk on ESPN. Those are all must-see fights. Essentially, even with minimal cooperation between networks and promoters, some great fights could happen with relative ease. 

But let's hope for the best. Here's wishing that the powers that be in boxing realize the depth and talent in the division. If everyone decided to play nice with each other, something truly special could happen. Yes, often we wear our skeptical hats as we follow the sport. It protects us from the cynicism and falsehoods which are all too common in boxing. But let's remove our caps for just a brief instance and imagine how exciting such a tournament could be. We're on the precipice of a golden age in the light heavyweight division. For today, let's luxuriate on those possibilities before the cold realities of the sport attempt to interfere.

Adam Abramowitz is the founder and head writer of saturdaynightboxing.com
He's a member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board.
Email: saturdaynightboxing@hotmail.com 
@snboxing on twitter. SN Boxing on Facebook.