The daring Briton did what no one else might. But he still lost by knockout.
Today the famous Russian boxer celebrates his 38th birthday Arthur Beterbiev. The main puncher of our time boasts a perfect record. At the same time, not a single opponent of the Wolf in 18 professional fights might hold out until the end of the fight.
But Beterbiev also had a really tough fight on his record. The Russian faced huge problems at the very beginning of the fight. The impudent Briton might spoil Arthur’s statistics already in the second round and knocked him down!
But our boxer managed to turn the tide of the meeting.
“No one can stop me”
In 2018, the Russian Artur Beterbiev did not yet have the reputation of a boxer, from whom most light heavyweight opponents run, waiting for the main knockout of recent years to retire. Then the White Puncher had just won a full-fledged IBF title in a duel with Adam Dines.
The choice of a new opponent dragged on for a long time. Who only then did not challenge Arthur, wanting to take possession of his belt. But the choice of the Russians settled on the British boxer Callum Johnson, who at that time also did not suffer a single defeat in his professional career. In terms of style and manner of fighting, Johnson was very much like the Wolf.
The Briton also had a powerful knockout blow: most of his opponents fell short of the final gong. But, unlike Beterbiev, in the early stages of his career, Callum abused fights with frank sacks, victories over which helped him achieve an impressive record, and at the same time gave the Englishman excessive self-confidence. Johnson promised to deliver problems to the unbeaten Russian:
– He had a great Olympic boxing career, but I also had a good one. And I have beaten Russians in the past. Beterbiev hits very hard, but not stronger than me. Everything will fall into place following our fight, but at the moment I am convinced that I am physically not inferior to him. If I hit hard and cleanly, no one can stop me, although, of course, Beterbiev can say the same regarding himself, ”Johnson said before the fight.
Arthur also understood that a dangerous opponent would box with him. Therefore, in the camp of the Russian there were no hatred moods.
– He is a strong and good boxer, he has a lot of experience in both amateur and professional boxing. I can’t say yet that I know a lot regarding him, but the coach and I are studying him and watching different videos of his fights, ”Boxing Social quotes the Russian as saying.
Unexpected knockdown
Two born punchers in the ring are almost a guarantee of an early end to the fight. But there was no frank cut in the first seconds. The boxers were well aware that if they opened up, they might immediately miss a knockout blow towards them.
A small initiative was owned by the Briton. He often went forward, but that let him down. Pinning Arthur to the ropes, Johnson failed to keep him there. Rebounding, Beterbiev delivered a devastating blow, knocking Callum down. The British boxer managed to get up, and the Russian failed to complete what he started. The gong sounded.
In the second round, already Beterbiev had problems. The Briton went ahead, and Arthur constantly met him with a jab. In the middle of the three-minute period, the athletes switched to an active exchange of blows. Unexpectedly, Callum came out the winner, sending the Russian to a clean knockdown – before that, not a single opponent of Beterbiev was able to do this.
But Johnson might not shake the Russian enough. Arthur quickly got up and with a firm gait went to continue the fight. Beterbiev did not allow himself to relax anymore. In the third round, Wolf’s heavy blows made the opponent breathe. By the end of this segment, Johnson frankly climbed into the clinch, waiting for the gong to hit.
In the fourth round, the Briton tried to regain the lost advantage. He once more began to actively attack, but this only led him to a deep knockout following a missed side. The referee counted to ten and did not even ask regarding Johnson’s desire to continue the fight.
As a result, Beterbiev won the 13th victory in a row. She paved the way for him to two other light heavyweight belts. Johnson’s fate is not so rosy. The defeat from Arthur remained the only one in his career, but he was forced to quit boxing due to mental health problems.
:quality(80)/cdn-kiosk-api.telegraaf.nl/b345b02e-befa-11ef-86d7-d6126ab1e5cf.jpg "Halina Reijn’s Hollywood Breakthrough: ‘I Hyperventilated On Set")
