Artur Beterbiev Ready To Take Care Of Business

Artur Beterbiev says he has done the “main work” to prepare for his fight against Dmitri Bivol, and he is ready to deal with him on Saturday night in Riyadh. IBF, WBC and WBO light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) is set to knock off WBA belt holder Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) in their showdown at the Kingdom Arena.

(Photo credit: Leigh Dawney/Queensberry Promotions)

During today’s workout in front of the media, silent assassin Beterbiev showed off his unusual way of doing pushups, bending his wrists while doing them, which looked painful. Beterbiev’s wrists are so powerful that he can bend them while doing pushups.

Interestingly, the 39-year-old Beterbiev looks the same age as the 33-year-old Bivol and the only thing that indicates that he is older is the injuries he has suffered recently. Beterbiev is coming off a knee injury that required surgery, and there are questions about whether he is 100%.

In Beterbiev’s workout today, he didn’t show much movement, which could indicate that he’s not as healthy as he looks. Either way, Bivol will test Beterbiev’s knee strength. He will use a lot of movement and possibly lean on him during the clinch.

THAT wrist exercise 🤯#BeterbievBivol | Saturday | #Riyadh Season pic.twitter.com/TMlldQZ46r

— Sky Sports Boxing (@SkySportsBoxing) October 9, 2024

“Anytime you come into Beterbiev, it’s not easy. The guy is a nightmare. He’s a boogeyman,” Teddy Atlas said Queensberry about Artur Beterbiev. “The worst mistake you can make about Beterbiev is to think he’s just a good puncher. He is much more than that.

“Bivol is the much more polished guy. He controls distance, has quick hands and puts his punches together.

“He can fight with you. He can hold you at the end of his sting and touch you. He can get corners, and he can create traps. He can do all those things,” Atlas continued about Bivol. “The other guy (Beterbiev) is a search and destroy guy, but it’s almost not fair to say what I just said.”

Bivol is much more polished than Beterbiev and fights much like a younger version of Wladimir Klitschko. His style is very similar to how Wladimir fought in his 20s before he teamed up with Emanuel Steward and became a guy who clinch a lot.

“He can do it with the hard jab, he can give you a little finesse and keep you off balance,” Atlas said of Beterbiev. “He’s doing a little bit of movement that I don’t think people know about. If he noticed your feet are not fixed, bop. He will jump in with a jab.

“I wouldn’t advise any of you in the ring to jump in with a jab because you might get caught on the way in, but he’s smart. He saw the guy’s feet go out. In this way, he closes the gap quickly,” said Atlas.

Beterbiev can use his jump in style with his jab as he has a good chin and can take shots from his opponents when they catch mid jump. Many fighters can’t get away with fighting like this because their hit resistance won’t let them.

“People wonder, ‘How did he get on me so fast?’ That’s how he got on you. He does little subtle things that are more than a caveman just bringing a club,” Atlas said. “He is much more than that, but the onus is going to be on him to close the gap a bit. Bivol can be very comfortable to own the outside.

“Beterbiev will have to close the gap at some point. When you’re trying to close the gap on a good counter puncher who knows what he’s doing and knows how to control distance. It’s like going to a bad neighborhood. You can be robbed,” Atlas said.

The Silent Assassin ⚔️#BeterbievBivol | #Riyadh Season | Oct 12, live on DAZN | @turk_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/00PTXkes8S

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) October 9, 2024