"Physically that's not usually possible" - Former champion implies Artur Beterbiev is cheating
Tony Bellew has taken aim at Artur Beterbiev following his win over the weekend.
The Russian light-heavyweight champion returned to the ring on Saturday night. Back for the first time since a knockout win over Anthony Yarde last January, he faced the rising Callum Smith. 'Mundo' had scored back-to-back stoppage wins since moving up to 175 pounds in 2020.
While the British boxer showed a lot of heart, he was no match for the champion. Beterbiev walked forward and just never let up the pressure. In the end, he scored yet another knockout win, just days out from his 39th birthday.
While a big win, Bellew has some questions about Beterbiev. Taking to X earlier this week, the retired former champion questioned how exactly the Russian was so dominant. He added that Beterbiev was unusually strong for his age.
It seems clear that Bellew is implying that Beterbiev has gotten help in the form of supplements. It's worth noting that the Russian did have an atypical drug test during fight week, but was allowed to compete anyway. That could be the cause for Bellew's skepticism.
On X, Bellew posted:
"Obviously we wanna see [Dmitry] Bivol [vs.] Beterbiev next! It’s a great fight but please show me a fighter who has got stronger with age! He’s 39 and he’s getting more destructive! Physically that’s not usually possible but he’s doing it! Our great sport needs looking at like Baseball was!"
Callum Smith rates Artur Beterbiev power following knockout loss
While Tony Bellew feels that Artur Beterbiev's power is otherworldly, Callum Smith doesn't agree.
'Mundo' was absolutely battered by the light-heavyweight champion on Saturday night. Given his friendship with Bellew, the retired boxer was unsurprisingly worried, which likely led to his post on social media.
However, the punches that Smith took on Saturday weren't anything too new. Speaking with Sky Sports following his loss to Beterbiev, the English boxer was asked to rate his power.
There, the former Canelo Alvarez opponent admitted that it wasn't anything too crazy. Smith stated that the bigger issue was that Beterbiev doesn't allow you to ever have a moment to breathe and that he wasn't hurt until the last shot.
Speaking to Sky Sports post-fight, Smith opined:
"His power, he stopped me but until the last shot I didn't feel anything [crazy] power-wise. He's more just touching you constantly to stop you from getting any sort of rhythm. No excuses, the better man won tonight."
Check out his comments (:30)