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On 13 February 2022, Top Rank boss Bob Arum revealed that Beterbiev was in ongoing negotiations with WBO light-heavyweight champion Joe Smith Jr. The planned three-belt light-heavyweight unification bout would take place in summer, as Beterbiev would be unable to face Smith Jr. earlier due to his participation in Ramadan. In April 2022, following the WBC and IBF decisions to bar fights involving boxers from Russia or Belarus, it was reported that Beterbiev would instead fight as a Canadian in his expected unification bout with Smith Jr. in June. WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman further stressed that Beterbiev had been living in Canada for 15 years, held a Canadian passport, Canadian residency, and a Canadian boxing license. The bout was officially announced for 18 June 2022, and took place at the Hulu Theater in New York City. In a dominant performance, Beterbiev knocked down Smith Jr. three times in the opening two rounds en route to a second-round technical knockout, unifying three major world light-heavyweight titles. After the fight, Beterbiev indicated that he would prefer to face undefeated WBA (Super) champion Dmitry Bivol in his next fight, rather than WBO mandatory challenger Anthony Yarde, stating, “Unification fights are more interesting and motivating, I would prefer to be undisputed.“
