Hasim Rahman feels that Artur Beterbiev is too powerful for Dmitri Bivol and will knock him out at some point in their fight this Saturday night in Riyadh.
Former two-time heavyweight champion Rahman says WBA champion Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) will outbox IBF, WBC and WBO champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) if it’s that type of fight, but he does it does not think it will be.
Rahman sees Beterbiev cutting off the ring on Bivol, wearing him down and knocking him out in that order this Saturday, October 12, in their undisputed 175-lb championship contest at the Kingdom Arena.
Hasim likes Bivol’s skills, but it’s just that he hits Beterbiev, who is so powerful, too hard, and will eventually get to him for the KO. Bivol gets hit because he’s a combo puncher, and those guys get tagged often.
The 33-year-old Bivol has come a long way in his career, holding his WBA title for seven years since 2017 and successfully defending his title 12 times, but he hasn’t faced much opposition during all those years. The best guy Bivol has fought since he captured his WBA belt is 5’8″ Canelo Alvarez, who was way too small to compete at 175.
“Artur Beterbiev has excellent boxing skills. He had a tremendous amateur background and went to two Olympics. No one has brought it out yet because its power is so destructive. It rules everything,” said Hasim Rahman Battle hypewhich the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol fight preview.
“Bivol, if he lets Beterbiev box, he will beat him. He is a better fighter. I do think Bivol has better footwork, but I think Beterbiev has the ability to cut off the ring and make him fight,” Rahman continued. “If you tell me that Bivol will not be hit by Beterbiev. If you don’t tell me that, then you’re not telling me anything I want to hear, because he’s going to lose.”
Bivol will be hit hard in this fight as he is going to be forced into exchanges by Beterbiev whether he wants to or not. Moreover, Bivol is a typical hot fighter who gets angry when he is hit and immediately wants revenge. We have seen this many times in Bivol’s career, most recently in his last fight against Malik Zinad last June. The little-known Zinad touched Bivol in the first three rounds, and he got angry and went after the Libyan fighter to knock him out in the sixth.
“He was knocking out guys at 200 pounds in the amateurs. Now he’s down to 175, and he’s destroying the 175 pounds,” Rahman said of Artur Beterbiev. “The only thing that will beat Beterbiev is Father Time. Other than that, nobody in the top 10 can beat this guy right now.”
Rahman may be right. The only thing that will derail Beterbiev’s career is age, but that probably won’t happen on Saturday night. Bivol will eventually be caught and knocked out. We saw Bivol hurt by Lyndon Arthur last December, and he wasn’t the same after being stunned with a right hand. In the last four laps, Bivol was on his bike, running away from Lyndon.
“For me, Bivol. Yes, he can (stay away from Beterbiev’s power for 12 rounds). Beterbiev has never faced someone like Bivol,” said cruiserweight Gilberto Ramirez. “I like the way he moves. I think he can win by decision.”
Gilberto was properly beaten by Bivol in 2022 and badly boxed by him. It is not surprising that he sides with Bivol after this loss. It would have been interesting if Ramirez had stayed around 175 long enough to challenge Beterbiev for his three titles, because then he would have been able to give a more accurate assessment of who is the better fighter between the two.
#BeterbievBivol | #Riyadh Season | Oct 12, live on DAZN | @turk_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/2tQGexDMV6
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