Boxing Pound-for-Pound Rankings: Artur Beterbiev debuts as his record, accomplishments become hard to ignore

The unified light heavyweight champion continues to leave a path of destruction in his wake

For as great as unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev has been throughout his 11-year pro boxing career, like a fine wine, the native of Russia continues to get even better with age. 

The perfect showcase of that belief came in January when he defended his trio of 175-pound world titles against former super middleweight champion Callum Smith in Quebec. Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs), whose all-action brawl with Anthony Yarde last year had some questioning whether he was slowing with age, was thoroughly dominant in just about every category en route to a seventh-round TKO win. 

On the verge of turning 39, Beterbiev has come an exceedingly long way from the early days of his pro career, which began late due to a long and successful amateur reign. For as dominant as Beterbiev has always been -- he has finished all 20 professional opponents -- the commitment he has shown to his craft has only become more pronounced as he gets older in age.