Artur Beterbiev weighed in at 174.96 pounds at the non-ceremonial weigh-in, while WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol weighed in at 174.12 pounds on Friday ahead of their fight this Saturday, October 12 in Riyadh.
Weights:
Artur Beterbiev – 174.96
Dmitry Bivol – 174.12
IBF, WBA and WBC champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) looked physically superior to Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) during Thursday’s final press conference. With all the talk about Beterbiev supposedly the bigger fighter) of the two, Bivol looked exhausted, not him.
Bivol is going to need all the energy he can muster to bounce in and out all night to avoid Beterbiev’s big punches. Although the favorite among the oddsmakers and seemingly the majority of the fans, Bivol has never fought a pressure fighter with the kind of power that Beterbiev brings.
This type of fight is foreign to Bivol, who still uses the amateur style learned while growing up in Russia. That amateur style may not work against Beterbiev’s pro style. Bivol is not used to fighting, and it could go badly for him if he fades under the pressure.
“The thing I like about Bivol is he rises to the level of his competition. Against Canelo he looked great. Against ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez he looked great,” Chris Mannix said of his channeltalking about his choice for Saturday, Bivol, over Beterbiev. “When he faces an opponent at the highest level, he raises his game.”
You can’t give Bivol too much credit for rising to the “level of his competition” against the smaller 5’8″ Canelo Alvarez and the very slow Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez. Canelo was too small to fight at 175 and should never have moved up in weight to face the bigger, more mobile Bivol.
Zurdo Ramirez looked exhausted and made weight. He should have moved up to cruiserweight rather than take on the fight against Bivol. In Ramirez’s previous fight against Dominic Boesel on May 14, 2022, he rehydrated to 203 lbs after weighing in at 174.8 lbs.
“I think he is aware of the danger that Beterbiev poses. I don’t think he’s going to take chances. I think he’s going to move in and out and throw combos. He’s going to try to win rounds cleanly, but not try to take chances against a punch of this caliber. I think it’s an 8-4 type of win for Dmitry Bivol,” Mannix said.
