On January 13th, Artur Beterbiev and Callum Smith will finally have their light heavyweight world championship fight together.
Eye of the Tiger Management (EOTTM) made the announcement on Tuesday, just over a week after announcing the postponement of the clash originally scheduled for August 19 at the Videotron Center.
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Beterbiev underwent emergency surgery on July 30 due to a severe jawbone infection. EOTTM stated that his pugilist could not take punches to the jaw for a period of two to four months.
“It is certain that with more than 6,300 tickets already sold, and this two weeks before the event and given the impact that the cancellation had, we have examined the possibility of holding the gala despite Artur’s withdrawal.” On the other hand, out of respect for our supporters, we concluded that we couldn’t compromise the quality of the event without the long-awaited finale that people paid for. We are very grateful and proud that Quebecers responded in such large numbers, proving that Quebec is as good as the world’s greatest boxing cities,” said EOTTM President Camille Estephan in a press release.
Against Smith (29-1-0, 21 KOs), Beterbiev (19-0-0, 19 KOs) will bring his WBC, IBF and WBO world championship belts into play.
The Quebec boxers Simon Kean, Christian Mbilli, Leïla Beaudoin and Wilkens Mathieu were originally supposed to be present at this gala in the state capital. At this time, EOTTM has yet to release any details regarding its Jan. 13 undercard.