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Artur Beterbiev (17-0, 17 KOs) will be looking to stay undefeated in a light heavyweight unification bout against hard-punching American Joe Smith Jr. (28-3, 22 KOs) on Saturday, June 18. Beterbiev will be putting up his IBF and WBC light heavyweight titles against Smith’s WBO light heavyweight title at the Hulu Theather at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
Live coverage of the fight will be on ESPN and ESPN+. The undercard bouts will start at 6 p.m. on ESPN+. The main network will take over for main event at 10 p.m. and the main event will start around 11 p.m. ET.
Beterbiev is currently a -750 favorite on DraftKings Sportsbook and at -295 to win the fight by knockout. Smith Jr. is a significant underdog at +500.
The 37-year-old Beterbiev is the top-ranked light heavyweight in the world today by ESPN. He is rated No. 2 in the division behind undefeated Russian Dmitri Bivol by Ring Magazine and BoxRec. Smith Jr. remains a top-five ranked light heavyweight across the board. He is ranked as the No. 3 light heavyweight by BoxRec and Ring Magazine.
The fight is going to be broadcast on ESPN+ — meaning you’ll need a subscription in order to watch the event. You can subscribe to ESPN+ on the ESPN website, where a monthly subscription for $5.99, or get the ESPN/Disney/Hulu bundle for $13.99 per month. Once you’ve got a valid login, you can watch the bout with WatchESPN or on the ESPN app.
Full Card for Artur Beterbiev vs. Joe Smith Jr.
- Main event: Artur Beterbiev vs. Joe Smith Jr. for light heavyweight weight titles
- Robeisy Ramirez vs. Abraham Nova; Featherweight
- Wendy Toussaint (13-1) vs. Asinia Byfield (15-4-1), super welterweight
- Bruce Carrington (3-0) vs. Adrian Leyva (3-2-1), featherweight
- Jahi Tucker (7-0) vs. D’Andre Smith (11-1), welterweight
- Troy Isley (5-0) vs. Donte Stubbs (6-5), middleweight
- Jahyae Brown (10-0) vs. Keane McMahon (7-2), super welterweight
- Floyd Diaz (4-0) vs. Daniil Platonovschi (4-0), super bantamweight
- Kieran Molloy (1-0) vs. Jonathan Ryan Burrs (4-5), super welterweight
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