Artur Beterbiev retained his IBF, WBC, and WBO light heavyweight titles on Saturday night in Canada when he finished Callum Smith in Round 7. The fight was the first time Smith had ever been dropped in his professional career and was a resounding confirmation that Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol was the next fight to make.
While speaking after the win, Beterbiev said he wanted Bivol next.
"I need another fourth belt," Beterbiev said.
Despite Beterbiev's interest in the fight with the WBA champion, Bob Arum said the fight wasn't quite official yet.
"It's not done yet," he said in the ring after the fight. "But absolutely we want to do it. I'll be talking to my friend His Excellency [Saudi Advisor] Turki Alalshikh. I know he wants to do it, but Ramadan is coming. So, about three months after the end Ramadan we'll be ready to fight Dmitry Bivol, probably in Riyadh."
So far, Bivol has yet to comment on Beterbiev's performance.
He did have some thoughts about the undefeated fighter in December and it's clear it's a matchup he's keen on.
"I think that when we signed the contract to fight [Lyndon] Arthur, Saudi Arabia said it wanted to see my future fight with Beterbiev there," he told ESPN. "I believe it can happen. I have to win this fight to keep moving forward to my goal of becoming undisputed world champion."
With the win over Smith, Beterviev moves to 20-0. He was ahead 58-56, 58-56, and 59-55 when the fight was stopped.