Dmitry Bivol’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, is counting on his technical skills to lead him to victory over stronger, durable and tough unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev six days from now on October 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
What could be the real difference in this undisputed 175-lb championship fight is their experience level. IBF, WBC and WBO light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) has consistently fought better opposition than WBA champion Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs).
Bivol’s recent wins were against Malik Zinad, a fringe fighter, Lyndon Arthur, Gilberto Ramirez, and Canelo Alvarez. Zinad should never have gotten a title shot because he was a lower ranked fighter.
Arthur was more of a household level fighter, and Ramirez, a cruiserweight, looked drained to make weight.
Beterbiev’s recent wins came against this killer streak:
– Callum Smith
– Anthony Yarde
– Joe Smith Jr.
– Marcus Browne
“He’s a better fighter than Artur Beterbiev, but we’ve seen time and time again that Artur can sometimes lose rounds, but he hunts you down,” Eddie Hearn said. Boxing Newsgives his thoughts on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol match.
Hearn may be wrong that Bivol has better skills than Beterbiev. We know that Bivol has better hand speed and is a superior combination puncher, but that doesn’t necessarily make him more skilled than Beterbiev.
For Bivol to be a better skill guy, he’ll need to show more willingness to stand and trade rather than hitting reverse after throwing one or two punches, like he usually does.
“Will Dmitri be able to get his respect? Will he be able to box him out for the duration of the fight without being cut down and caught up? It’s going to be a very difficult task, but if anyone can beat Artur Beterbiev, it’s Dmitri Bivol.”
“I think Beterbiev’s power and ferocity is so tough and so robust,” said former world champion Carl Frampton. “Bivol is a bit more fleet-footed. He doesn’t hit that hard. He is a big move. I’ll probably favor Beterbiev.”
Beterbiev’s chin is better than Bivol’s, and he is clearly more robust than him. Bivol avoids staying in the pocket and trading with his opponents for a reason. He’s been hurt before, and he doesn’t want to risk getting caught next Saturday against a big puncher like Beterbiev.
For the fans who will buy the event DAZN PPVit is hoped that Bivol will stay in the bag to mix it up with Beterbiev and make it an exciting fight to watch.
“I’m team Bivol all the way. I love him too much to go against him,” commentator Ade Oladipo said. “You have Bivol, who is a smooth backfoot fighter who can be aggressive. You have Beterbiev, who is just a wrecking machine.”
Ade has been saying he’s Team Bivol for a while. Will see what he says if Beterbiev wins. Will he remain loyal to the Eddie Hearn-promoted Bivol, even in defeat, or will he switch sides and become Team Beterbiev, promoted by Bob Arum of Top Rank.
“The win against Canelo was obviously the highlight of his career, and he boxed so well that night,” trainer Tony Sims said of Bivol. “Beterbiev, he’s knocked out every opponent he’s ever faced. It’s going to be a big fight.
“I think I’m going to lean a little bit towards Beterbiev with his punching power later in the fight, but you can’t tell who’s going to win. Bivol has all the ability in the world. It’s definitely a 50-50 battle.”
Beterbiev-Bivol is certainly not a “50-50 fight” as Sims sees it. This game has a clear favorite in the eyes of the oddsmakers and the fans. They see the younger, healthier Bivol as the one with the better chance to win because of his youth and the fact that he hasn’t suffered any major injuries recently. Beterbiev is coming off knee surgery to repair his meniscus tear.
