NEW YORK – Callum Smith will be among the more interested observers for the pair of upcoming light heavyweight title fights.

There is at least one where he knows that he can enjoy solely as a fan, even without a guaranteed shot at the winner of the title unification clash between lineal/WBC/IBF light heavyweight champ Artur Beterbiev (17-0, 17KOs) and WBO titlist Joe Smith Jr. (28-3, 22KOs). Their bout takes place June 18 at Madison Square Garden Hulu Theater in New York City.

Liverpool’s Smith (28-1, 20KOs) hopeful of facing whoever prevails but content with enjoying the show for the moment.

“It’s a big fight, exciting fight,” Smith acknowledged to BoxingScene.com. “Stylistically, you have to believe it can only go one way. They’re going to meet in the middle and have a tear-up. It will come down to whose chin is the best.”

Beterbiev will attempt his sixth overall title defense and third as the lineal and unified champ. The two-time Olympian for Russia—who relocated to Montreal upon turning pro in June 2013—is coming off a ninth-round knockout of WBC mandatory challenger Marcus Browne last December. His biggest win to date came in October 2019, knocking out unbeaten Oleksandr Gvozdyk in the tenth-round of their terrific unification bout in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Joe Smith makes his second title defense and his first fight on MSG property, which is roughly 70 miles from his Mastic Beach hometown in Long Island’s Suffolk County. Smith settled for a ninth-round knockout of Steve Geffrard, a late replacement for England’s Callum Johnson who tested positive for Covid ahead of the January 15 ESPN headliner from Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York.

Callum Smith has emerged as the number-one—though not mandatory—contender for Beterbiev’s WBC title, which could become available after the weigh-in for this fight. His lone win at the weight came in a second-round knockout of Lenin Castillo last September at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in North London. The victory followed his only career defeat to date, dropping a twelve-round decision to Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez (57-2-2, 39KOs) to end his WBA Super middleweight title reign,

Next up for the 32-year-old is a little bit more patience as he awaits Beterbiev-Smith to occur before setting his sights on the winner.

“Most people believe Beterbiev will win, he’s obviously the favorite,” notes Smith, who will likely land on the undercard of the Usyk-Joshua rematch later this summer. “One thing about Joe Smith, he’ll put it on Beterbiev. It will be nice to see someone push Beterbiev back and see how he responds to that.

“It’s a good fight, two champions. I’ve always been a big fan of champions fighting each other. Whenever you get to see it, it’s good for the sport. You have to take your hat off to them.”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox