Beterbiev vs Smith for the Unified Light Heavyweight title main evented a bill from Top Rank in Canada on Saturday night. The main event between the pair of fighters was fought for 3 Light Heavyweight titles, and Jason Moloney defended his WBO title in a further world title bout.
Here are the results from the show. We’ll also provide a star rating for show based on overall entertainment.
Imam Khataev vs Michal Ludwiczak
This proved a mismatch. Ludwiczak was drafted in as a late notice replacement after Rodolfo Gomez Jr. withdrew. Khataev dominated the contest leaving Ludwiczak looking to his corner for answers.
Khataev picked up a TKO in round 2.
Winner by TKO Imam Khataev
Jason Moloney vs Saul Sanchez
This was an absolute war. Moloney and Sanchez went back and forth for the full 12 championship rounds, drawing loud ovations from the crowd on several occasions. Moloney was left with damage to both eyes as the pair traded, with Sanchez seemingly showing the better work. Left to the cards, Moloney scored a Majority Decision, which draw a few boos from the live crowd.
Winner by Majority Decision (114-114) & (116-112 x2) Jason Moloney
Jason Moloney retains his WBO title.
Christian Mbilli vs Rohan Murdock
This was hard-hitting from the start. Mbilli was damaging Murdock early on, but Murdock survived the onslaught and trying to return fire. With Murdock being constantly tagged, the corner retired their fighter at the end of the sixth round.
Winner by RTD Round 6 Christian Mbilli
Artur Beterbiev vs Callum Smith
Beterbiev controlled the entire bout, knocking Smith down twice in round 7 before the corner threw in the towel. Beterbiev won every round beforehand and was outworking, outlanding and damaging Smith round by round.
Winner by RTD round 7 Artur Beterbiev
Artur Beterbiev remains the Unified Light Heavyweight champion.
Show Rating
This proved a good show. We had four bouts and at least 3 delivered.
Khataev vs Ludwiczak was a false start, but given there was a late-notice replacement sometimes it can’t be helped. The next 3 fights delivered.
Moloney vs Sanchez is the current fight of the year for 2024. Neither took a step backwards and both threw everything they had. Super world title bout it should have been the Chief Support.
Mbilli vs Murdock was one-way traffic but still entertaining. Mbilli peppered Murdock for 6 rounds until he had nothing left.
The main event delivered. Beterbiev dominated the entire bout, but it was a compelling watch seeing him break down Smith piece by piece. Smith didn’t offer much to threaten Beterbiev, but his counter punching remained a threat and Beterbiev couldn’t switch off.
This is the third card of 2024, and the best by a mile so far. The only complaints were the first contest on the TV card, and the delay in starting Mbilli vs Murdock seemed forever.
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️ 4 stars out of 5.