Artur Beterbiev stands as one of the dominating champions in boxing history, holding the title of the light heavyweight champion of the world with all his wins coming by knockout.
Only once has a fighter named Enrico Kölling managed to survive all 11 rounds until he received the knockout blow, with just 27 seconds left to end the fight on November 11, 2017. Apart from that instance, no one in light heavyweight boxing has been able to endure 12 rounds against the champion.
Artur Beterbiev delivers a stone-cold KO to Callum Smith
Once again, on the night of January 13th at Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Canada, Beterbiev showcased his power, this time against Callum Smith. Callum became another victim, managing to survive 6 rounds and 2 minutes before succumbing to the knockout blow from the Russian light heavyweight champion. In the initial six rounds, Beterbiev dominated Smith with his striking, pinpointing the knockout loophole in his opponent’s defense through precise jabs and punch combinations.
‼️ Artur Beterbiev KNOCKS OUT Callum Smith in round seven to defend his WBC, IBF & WBO light-heavyweight world titles. Excellent performance from Beterbiev, just battered him. Despite all the pre-fight talk about his age, he looks right in his prime as he approaches 39.
— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) January 14, 2024
Finally, in the 7th round, it was all done for him. The champion showed real haste with his boxing punches, actually breaking the defense wall of his opponent. Artur is his career’s 20th knockout, retaining his WBC, IBF, and WBO light heavyweight titles. Via Bad Left Hook.
Artur Beterbiev is the only champion with a 100% KO ratio
With this victory, Artur Beterbiev solidified his status as the only champion in boxing history with a 100% knockout ratio. Across 20 fights, the idea of a loss is an insult to the Russian boxer, who has refused to let his opponents leave the outcome to the judges.
After completing his celebration in the ring, Artur extended the joy to his Twitter handle, where he shared an image holding all of his retained belts and captioned it ’20-0-0 (20 KO),’ emphasizing his undeniable dominance in the world of boxing.
✅ 20-0-0 (20 KO) pic.twitter.com/iA7OGu0dKa
— Artur Beterbiev (@ABeterbiev) January 14, 2024
If the 38-year-old continues to uphold his glory until retirement, he will join the ranks of fighters like Andre Ward, becoming one of the few to maintain an undefeated record throughout their professional boxing career in the light heavyweight division.
Beterbiev’s remarkable feat of securing victories through knockouts has etched a new column in boxing history, where champions have rarely managed to finish all their opponents without involving judges. Even the current heavyweight champion, Tyson Fury, is undefeated but has never been able to maintain his 100% knockout record.
What’s your take on Artur Beterbiev maintaining his record of 100% knockouts in all his past 20 fights? Will the 38-year-old be able to keep his glorified career on top?
