Chris Algieri believes we could see Artur Beterbiev knocked out by WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol on October 12th. Algieri feels Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) has the power to knock Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) down at some point in their headliner clash at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
It’s hard to imagine Bivol dropping IBF, WBC and WBO champion Beterbiev when he couldn’t knock out Lyndon Arthur, Gilberto Ramirez, Canelo Alvarez, Craig Richards or Joe Smith.
If Bivol couldn’t knock those fighters down, it doesn’t seem realistic to assume he’s going to be able to drop Beterbiev. Bivol is not going to risk sitting on his shots in front of Beterbiev and getting clipped. It could happen anyway, even with Bivol using his normal hit-and-run style.
“Don’t be surprised if Bivol catches Beterbiev square at some point during this fight, which should blow everyone’s mind because you’re watching a boxer put the puncher down on the mat,” said Chris Algieri. Probox TVdiscussing the possibility of Dmitry Bivol knocking out Artur Beterbiev during their fight.
“We have seen Beterbiev before. We’ve seen Bivol score some really good knockouts and knockouts. So, it wouldn’t be that strange to see that situation happen,” Algieri said.
The only real blow Beterbiev suffered was against Callum Johnson in 2018, but it wasn’t a bad one. He got up and knocked out Johnson in the next round. Earlier in his career, Beterbiev was beaten by Jeff Page Jr. dropped by a lightning strike.
“Beterbiev is a very good boxer with a very deep amateur background, and we’ve seen his skills emerge more recently as he’s gotten older. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s not as fierce as he used to be. He has to be smarter and more deceptive on the way in,” Algieri said.
Beterbiev has been fighting bigger punchers lately than he had earlier in his career, and he’s had to be more alert defensively. If Beterbiev had fought guys like Callum Smith and Anthony Yarde earlier in his career, he would have been more cautious about attacking them.
“We see how he uses his jab, shortens the distance and positions himself much better. Bivol is definitely not a puncher, but he can punch enough to command respect. Even in the Canelo fight, he was able to disarm an offensive machine in Canelo with his power, his ability to punch, and his combination punch with the stiffness of his shots. It’s a very complicated, nuanced game,” Algieri said.
Canelo Alvarez was more bothered by the rapid-fire three-punch combinations Bivol threw in their 2022 fight, and he didn’t have the size or power to make him pay. If Bivol was the same size as Canelo, he couldn’t have fought like that without getting knocked out because he put himself in danger against him because he was the much bigger guy.
“You talk about Bivol’s hitting power. We saw some sharp right hands. They surprise you with speed. They’re deceptive, and all of a sudden you see his right hand land, and guys get hurt,” Paulie Malignaggi said.
Bivol does have good power in his right hand, but it’s not at the level of some of Beterbiev’s recent opponents. These former Beterbiev knockout victims have better power than Bivol:
– Anthony Yarde
– Callum Smith
– Radivoje Kalajdzic
– Joe Smith Jr.
– Oleksandr Gvozdyk
– Callum Johnson
Bivol could be a better puncher if he wasn’t so focused on his in-and-out style. He’s always thinking about his exit strategy and isn’t willing to stand flat-footed to load up his shots like power punchers do. Perhaps one reason for that is that Bivol has been hurt in the past, and he doesn’t want to take the chance of being tagged hard.
