Eddie Hearn says Dmitry Bivol can defeat Artur Beterbiev by jumping out to an early 6-2 lead and then using movement to win on Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Watch the fight live on ESPN+ in the US and live on DAZN outside the USA and Canda.
Hoor sees the IBF, WBC and WBO light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) as a “ticking time bomb” which can go down as the rounds go on.
Matchroom promoter Hearn wants his fighter, WBA champion Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs), to use quick combinations, angles and movement to keep Beterbiev from exploding on him.
It sounds like a great plan in theory, but Bivol is a combo puncher, and he doesn’t have a big chin, so he can’t handle being hit to the body. Bivol is good when he’s the one throwing, but he doesn’t react well when knocked back.
We saw Bivol hurt in the eighth round by a body shot from Lyndon Arthur last December in Riyadh. That shot took a lot of the fight out of Bivol, as he played it safe from then on.
It was a similar situation when Joe Smith Jr. Bivol suffered a hard right hand late in the 11th round in their match on March 9, 2019 in Verona, New York. Bivol looked drunk as he stumbled back to his corner as the round ended.
Complete Beterbiev – Bivol card for Saturday
– Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitri Bivol
– Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Kamil Szeremeta
– Fabio Wardley vs Frazer Clarke II
– Jai Opetaia vs Jack Massey
– Ben Whittaker vs Liam Cameron
– Skye Nicolson vs Raven Chapman
– Mohammed Alakel vs Jesus Gonzalez
“When you say it’s a fight fan’s fight, it really is. I hope the greater casual world understands the importance of this fight to boxing because it really is the best against the best,” said Eddie Hearn. BoxNationdiscusses the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol light heavyweight undisputed bout.
“I think the only person who can beat Artur Beterbiev is Dmitri Bivol and maybe vice versa. The undisputed light heavyweight championship is on the line Saturday night. It’s almost like a ticking time bomb when you fight Artur Beterbiev. The speed at which it ticks depends on your speed and ability and your movement to slow that clock down because it’s going to get you. That’s when.”
Hearn’s vision of Bivol defeating Beterbiev would be more believable if Dmitry proves himself against some of the talented killers at 175, such as Joshua Buatsi, David Benavidez and David Morrell. But given that Bivol’s career-best wins came against Canelo Alvarez and Gilberto Ramirez, it’s unrealistic to assume he’ll prevail against Beterbiev.
A more likely scenario is that Bivol is chased by Beterbiev in the sixth round and knocked out because he is not physically made for this type of fight.
“So, if you’re Dmitry Bivol, what you want to do is make that clock tick nice and slow,” Hearn continued. “Unfortunately, if you look at Callum Smith, by the fourth and fifth rounds, that clock was already around here, and it was almost time to go.”
Smith tried to use movement against Beterbiev but it didn’t work as he cut off the ring on him to force him to trade. Callum looked like a trapped animal by the sixth, rammed by Beterbiev and looking traumatised. We could see the same thing with Bivol, who does not possess Smith’s power.
“What Dmitry has to do is get to six, seven and eight unscathed and box well and lead 6-2 (on the judges’ scorecards). He will be in a position to keep that rhythm going to keep him (Beterbiev) off,” Hearn said.
Bivol jumping out to a big 6-2 lead over Beterbiev would be a dream come true for Hearn, as he could then go 9-to-12 for the final four rounds to win a 12-round unanimous decision . It would be a boring fight for the fans, but Hearn’s fighter, Bivol, would get the win and move on to face Canelo Alvarez in a lucrative rematch.
“This is another one of those fights where you can’t just walk down Bivol and drive him back on the roads and drop him off. He (Bivol) is going to fire back with speed, he is going to use the corners, and you also have to worry about what comes back. You can win fights comfortably with good footwork,” Hearn said.
Beterbiev can walk off Bivol, because even if he moves, he’s going to be caught. Beterbiev’s ability to cut off the ring on movers is great, and Bivol can’t dodge him without getting caught. We saw Oleksandr Usyk try to escape Beterbiev’s pressure in the 2012 Olympics, and he was repeatedly caught and hurt in his controversial victory.
