Artur Beterbiev knocks out Callum Johnson in 4!

Artur Beterbiev was in an action fight tonight on DAZN, mixing it up with Callum Johnson in a scheduled 12-rounder. It was always unlikely that this fight was going to go the distance, considering the style match-up, and the fight lived up to expectations with Beterbiev knocking out Johnson in the 4th to retain his IBF light heavyweight title.

Both fighters had their moments in this fight, with Beterbiev coming out strong and dropping Johnson in the opening round. That said, in the second frame Johnson caught Beterbiev with a short left hook that put Beterbiev down. Johnson didn’t back down from Beterbiev’s fearsome reputation, coming right at him, and it probably hastened his demise, even if it was his only shot to win.

In the fourth round Beterbiev caught Johnson with a short right hook that clipped Johnson on his temple, and dropped him hard. Johnson was obviously badly hurt, and just barely made it to his feet by the count of 10, but the referee ruled that it was too late and the fight was over.

In the post-fight interview Beterbiev (13-0, 13 KOs) said that he was happy with his performance and disregarded his knockdown saying it’s boxing and that anyone can get dropped. To him what was most important was that he got up and won, which is all that he really cared about.

Meanwhile Johnson (17-1, 12 KOs) said he was gutted about the loss but that he’s confident that he’ll be back and better than ever, promising he’ll soon win a world title.