Patience.
It’s not the first word that comes to mind when describing a fighter who – until his most recent bout – has knocked out every opponent he’s faced.
For Artur Beterbiev, patience defined his 175-pound championship run. He remained confident throughout every day of his seven-year title reign that there would come a time when he owned every piece of relevant hardware at light heavyweight.
That moment came on October 12, when he defeated Dmitry Bivol to win the RING Championship and fully unify the 175-pound division.
“When I first won the IBF belt, this dream has always been with me,” Beterbiev told The Ring. “I always remained confident that this day would come.
“Now it happened a few days ago and I’m very happy.”
It was evident in his jubilant yet humble expression when he was announced as a majority decision winner at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Beterbiev (21-0, 20 knockouts) went the distance for the first time in his career. He expected this day to finally come, even though he had always avoided going to the scorecards before.
Against Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs), Beterbiev was expected to pull out some new tricks. Both were undefeated, widely regarded as the two best light heavyweights in the world and among the sport’s pound-for-pound best.
Beterbiev never expects to steamroll his opponents, even though it has happened on a number of occasions during his long reign. He will always be the physically stronger fighter no matter who he faces at or near light heavyweight. Bivol did have a size advantage and was considered the better pure boxer on paper.
Whether that last part still holds true after twelve championship rounds is up for debate. At least Beterbiev answered a lot of questions about how he would react when his opponent refused to fall.
“I was glad this fight lasted twelve rounds,” Beterbiev insisted. “Because I have to prove that I’m just not going to look for the knockout. It’s always the same every fight. If it happens, it’s good.
“If not, we have shown our boxing well for twelve rounds and can also win that way.”
Beterbiev had to box—and fight—for all twelve rounds to earn what is the biggest win of his great yet frustrating career.
Bivol was able to jump out to an early lead. Furthermore, he was ahead on all three scorecards after nine rounds.
Much was made of the advice that came from Beterbiev’s corner before the start of the eleventh round. Renowned head coach Marc Ramsay informed his charge that he needed a knockout to win.
That sense of urgency is not uncommon in any world-class corner. Hall of Fame multiple trainer of the year Freddie Roach often asks his charge to “put them on his ass” before the final round. Most elite trainers know how to get the most out of their fighter in a tough situation.
This is what happened in the Beterbiev corner. The world-class fighter that he is, the 39-year-old crushing Russian responded in kind.
“I didn’t think I was losing, but I didn’t think about the scores,” Beterbiev admitted. “I was more focused on the fight. Those last few laps I pushed myself to the limit. To be honest, you should always have enough energy to finish the fight in those two rounds, three rounds. It’s important that when the battle is over, you run out of energy.
“You give everything in those last laps. I did it when my corner told me to win. They always tell me I need a knockout. I knew that meant winning the rest of the battle and being out of energy by the end. You don’t need that energy after the 12st around You need it to win the battle.”
The closest Beterbiev ever came was fittingly in his first title win.
Enrico Koelling was hopelessly outmatched in their November 2017 IBF light heavyweight title fight in Fresno, California. However, the German competitor saw daylight when the bell rang to start the 12th and final round.
Beterbiev knew his opponent had only come to survive rather than win the title. He put an end to that with two takedowns to force the shutout with just 37 seconds left on the night.
The fight itself marked the end of a ten-plus month layoff as Beterbiev recovered from shoulder surgery. The 2008 and 2012 Russian Olympian fought just his 12th pro fight in more than four years as a pro while competing for his first major title.
Injuries, illness and a global pandemic will further stunt his momentum. Beterbiev has fought just nine times since initially claiming the IBF belt.
The key was to make it count whenever he made his way to the ring. He did so against then-undefeated lineal/WBC champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk in their October 2019 lineal/WBC/IBF unification bout. Beterbiev trailed on two of three scorecards after nine rounds before stopping Gvozdyk in the tenth.
It was his finest hour as a pro, but also his last for another 17 months. The pandemic and a series of delays stalled his IBF-ordered mandatory title defense, which even prompted a change of opponent. He finally resumed his career in March 2021. Two fights later, Beterbiev added the WBO belt to his collection.
Three bouts later, Beterbiev left boxing’s newest hotbed as the undisputed king of the light heavyweight division.
“Unfortunately, injuries are part of the sport. Delays are part of the sport,” Beterbiev noted. “All these different things are put in our way for a reason.
“In the end it produced something very good. I always stayed fit and patient for this moment in my career to arrive.”
Even this moment saw a four-month delay as Beterbiev recovered from a knee injury and subsequent surgery. He and Bivol would meet in June, even then in a fight most thought was never possible before 2024.
That dynamic changed with the emergence of Turki Alalshikh and the Riyadh Season Group, which invested heavily in the sport. More so, the team made an aggressive push to secure championship fights at the absolute highest level.
Without this current movement, the light heavyweight division remains splintered for 22 years.
With that, Beterbiev was not only placed in a position to succeed, but in a country where he was able to fully embrace his faith shortly after his career-defining victory.
“Yes, it made this moment a little more special. Islam is a big part of the culture in Saudi Arabia,” said Beterbiev, a devout Muslim. “But I am true to my faith, no matter where I am in the world.
“It made it a little different to win it here, but the goal was always to win the undisputed championship where this fight took place.”
Fittingly, the road to uncontested came against an opponent who had waited as long as he had for this moment. Bivol was upgraded to the full WBA light heavyweight title just one week before the start of Beterbiev’s IBF title reign.
“It was always meant to work out like this, (Bivol) and I fight for everything,” Beterbiev insisted. “I never doubted that this day would come. I am grateful to His Excellency (Alalshikh) and those who made it happen. Every step of my career has led to this. It was always my lot.
“My belief that this day would come led to what I was able to do in the ring to make my dream come true.”
