Roy Jones Jr. still opts to team with WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol to outbox IBF/WBC/WBO champion Artur Beterbeiv in their four-belt contest on October 12 in Riyadh. Jones Jr. believes that the two knockdowns that Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) has suffered during his career indicate that he has a weak chin and will be vulnerable to Bivol’s punches.
Roy doesn’t mind that Beterbiev’s knockouts were the blitz variant against Callum Johnson and Jeff Page Jr. He feels that Beterbiev going down in those two fights means he’ll be vulnerable to Bivol’s punches, even though he’s not a powerhouse.
Some would say that Jones Jr. Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) picks because he has a bias against him for being a pure boxer as he has been throughout his long career. This could be the reason. Former fighters naturally prefer guys who have a similar style to how they fought.
“I think Bivol has a better chance to go in because he is a boxer who can also punch. Beterbiev is one of the best punchers this world is likely to see for his weight class. So, he’s always dangerous, but he’s been in boxing a few times. People say ‘He was ‘off balance’. It doesn’t matter. You were down,” Roy Jones Jr. said Battle hypeleaning towards Dmitri Bivol beating Artur Beterbiev on October 12.
Bivol is not a puncher. He’s a boxer, but when he does score knockouts, it’s by landing a flurry of shots against mostly fringe fighters. He has knocked out just one opponent since 2018, Malik Zinad, a bottom-ranked fighter. Before that knockout, Bivol’s last stoppage came against Sullivan Barrera in the 12th round in March 2018.
“If a fighter knows you were down and he can possibly put you back, he can hit you in the right spot. But he (Beterbiev) is so difficult to deal with,” said Roy.
It’s a mistake for Jones Jr. to blitzes that Beterbiev against Callum Johnson and Jeff Page Jr. had, to be confused with him who had poor shock resistance. Beterbiev rose from the deck to knock out Page in round two in December 2014 and stopped Johnson in the fourth round of their fight in October 2018.
“Bivol has to make sure he gets to the third, fourth or fifth round, or he has to try to get him out immediately. I don’t think he will because Bivol is not that kind of guy,” Jones Jr. said.
It will be interesting to see how Bivol tries to strike with Beterbiev to knock him out, as this will put him at risk of being clipped. Beterbiev is the much better puncher of the two, and he’ll be happy to see Bivol choose to trade with him.
Jones Jr. may not have watched enough of Bivol and Beterbiev’s fights to accurately predict this fight. It sounds like his knowledge of both guys is sketchy, because Bivol isn’t a puncher and Beterbiev isn’t chinny as he makes himself out to be.
“If Bivol can use his feet and avoid the power for the first three or four rounds, Bivol should win the fight. But if he gets caught, we don’t know because I’ve never seen him get caught by a guy who hits with the velocity that Artur Beterbiev hits. Just because of his boxing skills,” Roy jr. said when reminded that he gave Bivol a 60-40 chance of defeating Beterbiev.
Some would say Jones Jr. picks Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) because he has a bias against him for being a pure boxer as he has been throughout his long career. This could be the reason. Former fighters naturally prefer guys who have a similar style to how they fought.
