Callum Smith travels to Quebec to take on boxing’s most feared man in Artur Beterbiev.

Yet, with Beterbiev now 38-years-old, and with a backlog of barnstormers behind him, is time Smith’s best friend?

See, time is the wisest counsellor of all, and in boxing there is no place to hide. When age hits you, along with the clubbing right hand of a 175lb man, it could spell a swift end.

And in Beterbiev, we are looking at a fighter who has been through his fair share of tussles.

Let’s take the fight with Marcus Browne, in which Beterbiev’s forehead split open, forcing him to fight five rounds caked in claret. Or his fight with Callum Johnson, where he had to rise from the deck, buzzed by a blunt left hook.

His 19 knockouts in 19 victories tell only half the story.

But it is that inability to lose which is almost as unnerving as the 19 finishes that have given Beterbiev his title of the ‘most feared man in boxing’. He fights as if he is allergic to defeat.

Yet this time, maybe things are stacking up in the favour of Smith as Beterbiev heads into fight number 20. Smith is no spring chicken, but his 33 is as ripe as the Russian’s 38 is bruised.

Granted, Smith hasn’t earnt any real stripes up at light-heavyweight. A frightening knockout of Gilberto Castillo and a brisk beating of Mathieu Bauderlique aren’t much to write home about.

But they are fights that pay credit to the power Smith holds.

Those two wins, however, have been his only two in the last three years. And, if we are to take the defeat to Canelo Alvarez, and what should have been a defeat to John Ryder, then those two wins at 175 are his only two in four years.

I suppose that says a lot about modern boxing, especially when you consider that in the decade of Beterbiev’s professional career, he doesn’t even average two fights a year.

He would have done, had he fought Smith on the proposed August 19th date last year - the champion having to pull out after a bone infection in his jaw required surgery.

Age, inactivity, injury… a Smith stoppage is almost asking to bankrupt my local bookmaker.

But, of course, you can only take these variables into account so much.

As a fighter, Beterbiev is understatedly smart. Yes, he has a ton of torque behind his shots, but it is his ability to use his boxing brain that allows these heavy shots to land.

He is a master of making the ring seem like a very confined space. The smaller the ring, the easier the hunt. At some point on Saturday night, Smith will feel the pressure of that hunt.

And if we think back to that Canelo defeat, Smith was shelled up for 12 rounds, almost shying away from the Mexican’s power. Add a couple of inches in height, a few more in reach, and plenty more in pounds, this could be a real rough ride.

So, let us hope that this isn’t just another valiant British performance on away soil, and more the performance that crowns Callum Smith a two-weight world champion.

We can all dream, right?

Oscar Bevis

Barroso dropped Romero in the third, and led on all three judges’ scorecards when referee Tony Weeks stepped in after a fairly insignificant flurry of shots from Romero. 

Davies had fired shots at Romero in the wake of the fight, but also admitted he is unsure whether Barroso has a new lease of boxing life, or Romero is just genuinely not that good. 

Either way, Davies cannot afford to let this one slip, as defeat number three undoubtedly slams shut the world title door once and for all. This isn’t time for games. 

The importance and significance of this opportunity are certainly not lost on Davies and team, who travelled out during the festive period to ensure they are as acquainted with the Vegas clock as possible. After all, this is the British fighter’s US debut. 

A win would land Davies in a brilliant spot, opening doors that he and his old overly bullish persona almost threw away during his unfiltered and outspoken days. 

Whilst Davies tries to work his way into prime position, Saturday night’s card also sees the eagerly awaited return of Vergil Ortiz, whose 18-month layoff can be attributed to a horrific case of Rhabdomyolysis, a disease that can lead to either fatal or paralysing kidney failure. 

Once a feared addition to a stacked 147 division, Ortiz is ready to earn his stripes up at 154 this weekend, with trainer Robert Garcia even eyeing up future 160lb bouts for the Texan. 

Sitting on 19 wins and 19 knockouts, I won’t hesitate to say that this is a return you might just want to set that alarm for. 

Oscar Bevis