Dmitry Bivol is working on his speed and movement to wrap up the final two weeks of preparation for his undisputed light heavyweight contest against unified 175-lb champion Artur Beterbiev on Oct. 12 in the Riyadh regular season event.
Bivol looks frantic with the pace of his workout and pushes himself hard in a sign that he will focus on his speed and movement to defeat Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) by decision.
Many believe that Bivol will fold under Beterbiev’s pressure and that the wind will stop in the middle rounds if he continues this long. Bivol came close to losing to pressure fighter Craig Richards in 2021, and the fight showed his weakness in dealing with fighters who don’t let him breathe.
It would be too risky for WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) to mix it up with IBF, WBC and WBO champion Beterbiev the way he did Canelo Alvarez or his last opponent, Malik Zinad.
Beterbiev is well aware of the tactics Bivol will use, as he has seen that style many times in the amateurs in Eastern Europe. Oleksandr Usyk was an example of Beterbiev fighting a combination puncher that moved a lot.
Beterbiev lost to Usyk by a questionable decision in the 2012 Olympics after injuring himself. In their 2011 fight, Beterbiev dropped Usyk with a body shot and hurt him at the World Amateur Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. However, if those fights were 12 rounds, there is a very good chance that Beterbiev would have knocked him out because he had him in bad shape in their three rounds.
“I don’t want to talk about this fight because it’s Canelo. This is not our division,” said Artur Beterbiev Queensberry when asked about the praise Dmitry Bivol received for defeating Canelo Alvarez in 2022.
Canelo Alvarez moved up from 168 to challenge Bivol for his WBA light heavyweight title in 2022, and he was too small. Alvarez started his career as a middleweight, and he has always been small for the 168-lb division. Going to 175 to challenge Bivol was a crazy idea, and he paid the price.
“No, I’m not a good boxer yet. Even Muhammad Ali lost fights,” Beterbiev said when asked if he was afraid of losing to Bivol. “I don’t think about it. I always try to be ready for my opponents.”
Even if Beterbiev is worried about losing to Bivol, it won’t stop him from going all out and trying to score a knockout in the fight. Any fighter is worried about losing when facing good opposition.
“It’s a good scenario. I would like to try to go up when I finish this category. It’s good,” Beterbiev said of moving up to cruiserweight to challenge IBF champion Jai Opetaia if he prevails against Bivol.
Beterbiev would have an excellent chance to defeat Opetaia because that guy doesn’t handle being knocked back. We saw Opetaia come loose in his recent match against Mairis Briedis when he started to take punishment, and he was happy to get the win.
That fight showed Opetaia was not what some fans thought he was. Against Beterbiev, Opetaia will be exposed and knocked out. The cruiserweight division is weak, allowing fighters like Opetaia to rise to the top. At light heavyweight he would not be a champion.
“I’m taking actions to make these things happen (to capture all the light heavyweight belts). I had fights in Moscow, United States and in England. I’ve had some great shows, and now in Saudi Arabia. They put on a great show for this fight. I am a happy person,” Beterbiev said.
🚨 @bivol_d prepare for a storm 🌩️#BeterbievBivol | #Riyadh Season | Oct 12, live on DAZN | @turk_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/XILTB2Apc0
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) September 29, 2024
