CHICAGO -- Up for grabs on Oct. 6 will be Artur Beterbiev's (12-0, 12 KOs) IBF light heavyweight title. Trying to pry it from him will be Callum Johnson (17-0, 12 KOs), when the two meet in a fight that will stream live on DAZN. Perhaps looming larger than that IBF title however, is a fight against one of the light heavyweight division's big names, something Beterbiev and Johnson haven't yet had the chance to do.
Beterbiev is an orthodox fighter who hails from Russia. He is a serious puncher, which is made clear but his 100 percent knockout percentage. He likes to come forward, but he does so patiently and doesn't often get overly aggressive. Beterbiev is a punishing puncher with both hands and he is a tremendous body puncher. He loves to bang left hooks to the body but that punch can also do serious damage upstairs, as can his excellent right hand. He isn't without his flaws though, the most notable being his lack of a jab. Instead of jabbing his way inside and setting up his power punchers, Beterbiev often plows straight ahead without jabbing at all which only makes things more difficult for him.
Arguably the two biggest names on Beterbiev's resume are Tavoris Cloud and Gabriel Campillo but those fights came in 2014 and 2015. Since those fights Beterbiev's resume is seriously lacking in marquee names. A win over Johnson could finally help Beterbiev get a fight with another big name and there are names like Eleider Alvarez, Dmitry Bivol, Adonis Stevenson, Sergey Kovalev, Oleksandr Gvozdyk, and Badou Jack in sight. However, a loss for Beterbiev, a guy who hasn't built up much a fan base or marquee name, could be disastrous.
Johnson is an orthodox fighter who likes to leave his lead hand low. He doesn't jab much either and often likes to let his opponent take the lead while he looks to catch them with counter punches. However, he does have a bad habit of backing straight up which could be dangerous against a puncher like Beterbiev. When his opponent is unloading, Johnson will usually just sit behind a high guard and wait to unleash his counter left hook. Although Johnson's most used punch is his left hook, his best punch is probably his right hand. He doesn't use the right as often but when he does land it, it usually does serious damage.
Much like Beterbiev, Johnson lacks marquee names on his resume. Yet while Beterbiev has fought a few notable opponents, Johnson really hasn't. He has also never fought outside of the U.K. but will have to travel across the pond to Chicago to challenge Beterbiev. When Johnson steps in the ring against Beterbiev it will mark the first time he's fought for a world title and it will also be far and away the biggest bout of his career. Johnson's resume is littered with fighters with losing records and of his 17 career opponents 12 of them had losing records. In fact the combined record of his 17 opponents is an abysmal 144-258-19.
If Beterbiev wants to make a statement and lay claim to being one of the best light heavyweights in the sport than he needs to dominate Johnson. Johnson is taking a massive step up in competition and could find himself in over his head. Look for Beterbiev to be aggressive from the start and really try to pound away at the body of Johnson. Johnson will be looking to catch Beterbiev with counter left hooks on his way in but he also needs to land plenty of powerful right hands in order to get Beterbiev's respect. If Johnson can't catch Beterbiev with something big early the Russian could overwhelm him. When Beterbiev does get inside look for Johnson to initiate clinches in an attempt to slow the attack of the champion.
PREDICTION: Callum Johnson had a nice amateur career but hasn't yet faced anyone even near the level of Artur Beterbiev as a pro. Johnson will certainly catch Beterbiev with some left hooks and he may even land a few big right hands. However, his offense will be too few and far between to win this fight. Beterbiev is going to have a higher punch output and be the more aggressive fighter and that aggressiveness will pay off in the form of a 10th round stoppage victory.
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| Beterbiev landing a hard right hand |
Arguably the two biggest names on Beterbiev's resume are Tavoris Cloud and Gabriel Campillo but those fights came in 2014 and 2015. Since those fights Beterbiev's resume is seriously lacking in marquee names. A win over Johnson could finally help Beterbiev get a fight with another big name and there are names like Eleider Alvarez, Dmitry Bivol, Adonis Stevenson, Sergey Kovalev, Oleksandr Gvozdyk, and Badou Jack in sight. However, a loss for Beterbiev, a guy who hasn't built up much a fan base or marquee name, could be disastrous.
Johnson is an orthodox fighter who likes to leave his lead hand low. He doesn't jab much either and often likes to let his opponent take the lead while he looks to catch them with counter punches. However, he does have a bad habit of backing straight up which could be dangerous against a puncher like Beterbiev. When his opponent is unloading, Johnson will usually just sit behind a high guard and wait to unleash his counter left hook. Although Johnson's most used punch is his left hook, his best punch is probably his right hand. He doesn't use the right as often but when he does land it, it usually does serious damage.
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| Johnson throwing an infrequently used jab |
If Beterbiev wants to make a statement and lay claim to being one of the best light heavyweights in the sport than he needs to dominate Johnson. Johnson is taking a massive step up in competition and could find himself in over his head. Look for Beterbiev to be aggressive from the start and really try to pound away at the body of Johnson. Johnson will be looking to catch Beterbiev with counter left hooks on his way in but he also needs to land plenty of powerful right hands in order to get Beterbiev's respect. If Johnson can't catch Beterbiev with something big early the Russian could overwhelm him. When Beterbiev does get inside look for Johnson to initiate clinches in an attempt to slow the attack of the champion.
PREDICTION: Callum Johnson had a nice amateur career but hasn't yet faced anyone even near the level of Artur Beterbiev as a pro. Johnson will certainly catch Beterbiev with some left hooks and he may even land a few big right hands. However, his offense will be too few and far between to win this fight. Beterbiev is going to have a higher punch output and be the more aggressive fighter and that aggressiveness will pay off in the form of a 10th round stoppage victory.
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