Artur Beterbiev showed no emotion when told that Oleksandr Usyk is picking Dmitri Bivol to defeat him this Saturday night. Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) smiled and said, “They can say anything.”
(Photo credit: Leigh Dawney/Queensberry Promotions)
Some believe it Usyk is still bitter about his fight against Beterbiev in the 2012 Olympics, as he was badly hurt by Artur and appeared to have lost the contest. Beterbiev clearly won two of the three rounds, punching holes through Usyk with every shot.
The judges gave Usyk a 17-13 win in their quarter-final, but many felt Beterbiev did more than enough to deserve the win. Like Anthony Joshua, Usyk went home with a controversial gold medal at the London Olympics.
Usyk was the darling of the Olympics in the heavyweight class and was favored to win the gold. Beterbiev got the upper hand, but ended up losing a questionable decision. Can Usyk still harbor a sense of bitterness there?
This was not the first time Usyk had fought Beterbiev, as they competed at the 2011 World Championships. Beterbiev knocked Usyk down with a hard shot to the body in the third round, but Oleksandr won by a score of 17-13. It was another fight that Beterbiev fought well enough to win, but the judges gave it to Usyk.
“Obviously it’s the biggest. This is the undisputed battle for all the belts. I don’t know. I don’t think about it,” said Artur Beterbiev Pro Boxing Fanswhich is responding to the fact that Canelo Alvarez wants to fight Dmitry Bivol if he wins, but not him if he wins on Saturday.
“They can say anything. I don’t think about them about what they say and what they do. I’m all focused on my fight,” Beterbiev said when told that Oleksandr Usyk is picking Bivol to defeat him.
Then again, Usyk may still be salty about what Beterbiev did to him in their two fights, especially the 2012 Olympics. When Usyk looks at his gold medal on the shelf, he has to consider it tarnished because fans consider it gifted.
“Those home comforts in Quebec and Canada. It’s a fight on the road. Bivol previously had the experience of two battles in the Kingdom. It’s not something that’s been talked about,” said promoter Eddie Hearn Queensberry Promotions about Beterbiev not having fought in Riyadh before.
“I’m not saying it’s going to throw him off, but he’s traveling, he’s on the road, and he’s climbing; he had knee surgery,” Hearn said of Beterbiev. “We’re going to hold a few more straws here tonight and pray. Bivol is the guy to beat him.”
Beterbiev won’t be thrown out of the fights outside of Canada because he’s traveled a lot during his amateur career, and he’s not going to be intimidated by being away from his home base. If Bivol is going to win, it’s not going to be because Beterbiev is uncomfortable being in an unfamiliar environment.
“I think the first few rounds of this fight are going to be important because in the first few rounds, if he gets caught, if he gets tagged, he goes back to his corner, then you think, ‘There’s a long way to go,’” Hearn said of Bivol. “What you really want is to get through six, seven or eight rounds and be 5-1 up or 6-2 after eight. Don’t stop, but think: ‘We have four rounds here.’
Biviol’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, hopes he can jump out to an insurmountable lead after eight rounds and then go on the defensive in the final four to take the win. Beterbiev cannot afford to let Bivol win the first half of the fight as he will milk the lead by running and holding in rounds nine through twelve.
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