Joe Smith Jr Admits To Losing His Focus Against Artur Beterbiev

Joe Smith Jr. (28-4, 22 KOs) believes that he had a plan going against Artur Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs), but completely failed to execute it. The American was defeated in a short tussle recently against the Montreal-based Beterbiev.

The bout was over in two rounds, and it was classified as one of the most dominant wins in Betebiev’s career. The Russian, who had already secured WBC and IBF belts, knocked the 32-year-old off his feet three times before the referee, Harvey Dock, waved the fight off.

Beterbiev’s win means that he now holds three of the four major titles. The only belt that he doesn’t own now (WBA) is in the hands of Dmitry Bivol. In an sobering assessment on his Instagram account, Smith believes to have lost focus after getting punched by the 37-year-old right behind his ear.

“This past weekend did not go as planned as I lost my focus on the game plan after making a mistake that led me to getting caught behind my ear knocking off my equilibrium that I could not recover from,” Smith said on Instagram.

“I would have loved to bring home all the titles for you all. I am going to take some time, stay in shape and decide what the future holds for me.”

This marks the second time Smith has come up short in a world title situation.

Currently, it is expected that Beterbiev will face his WBO mandatory, Anthony Yarde, in London in the fall.