Gvozdyk’s advice for Bivol to defeat Artur Beterbiev: “Run away”

Oleksandr Gvozdyk advises Dmitri Bivol to “run away” from Artur Beterbiev, not let him get hit, and stay off the ropes in their light heavyweight undisputed championship fight in Riyadh next Saturday.

Former WBC 175-lb champion Gvozdyk was the favorite when he fought Beterbiev five years ago on October 18, 2019, but was knocked out in the tenth round.

Gvozdyk was ahead on two of the judges’ scorecards with scores of 87-83, 86-85 while the third had it 87-83 at the time of the stoppage in the tenth. Gvozdyk showed Beterbiev can be outboxed for long stretches, but it doesn’t take much for him to turn the fight around with his power.

Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) is more mobile and a better combination puncher than Gvozdyk was at the time, but not as powerful or as solid in the chin department. For this fight, Bivol needs to abandon his combo punch, as it will leave him vulnerable to Beterbiev’s counter punch. He is like a shark hunting his prey to come to him, looking for land.

“He is very smart, has good footwork and has a very good and precise jab,” Oleksandr Gvozdyk said. Round Eight Boxingtalk about Dmitri Bivol. “These are two different styles of fighters. Beterbiev is a brawler; he comes and inexorably. He is very strong and also very smart. People underestimate his boxing skills.

“Yeah, because of his style, he just comes and breaks everyone down,” Gvozdyk said when asked if people underestimate Beterbiev’s technical ability. “People think he’s only capable of that, but he can also box.”

Beterbiev mostly boxes, but his power is so strong that it results in him knocking out his opponents. He has heavy hands, and even his jabs have power behind them. Bivol is obviously going to box and try to keep the whole fight away from Beterbiev. It’s not going to be easy.

“He was an amateur world champion where you can’t really use your power for everyone. There are a lot of technical guys out there. You are limited by three rounds,” Gvozdyk said.

“Of course you prepare to avoid his punches. You’re not supposed to stop yourself near the ropes because that’s where he gets really dangerous,” Gvozdyk said of Beterbiev. “When he starts getting his punches on you (guard), you still feel it, and it’s not easy to fight this guy.”

Bivol won’t let Beterbiev catch him against the ropes, but that doesn’t mean he won’t get hard in the middle of the ring. Beterbiev doesn’t need to pin down his opponents in order for him to land hard shots. Many of his knockouts come in the center of the ring.

“He knows how to fight those kind of guys,” Gvozdyk said of Beterbiev knowing how to deal with mobile fighters who use footwork. So, I think it’s going to be a very difficult task for Bivol.

“It’s hard (to keep Beterbiev from trapping you against the ropes). When you’re fighting this kind of guy, you’re revving your engine all the time, which really burns you out. Apart from the technical and tactical part, you have to take care of your conditioning part very well to be able to fight Beterbiev,” said Gvozdyk.

It’s going to be hard for Bivol to move throughout the fight to avoid Beterbiev because he’s going to catch him with short punches. Even when Bivol turns away to escape, he will be hit with shots. Unlike other power punchers, Beterbiev does not load up on his shots. He throws short, high punches that do a lot of damage.

“Don’t let him beat you and work you (back) hard,” Gvozdyk said about what advice he has for Bivol to defeat Beterbiev. “Run away because it’s not a good idea to stay on the ropes against him,” Gvozdyk said.

This will require Bivol to emphasize throwing singles and jabs to prevent Beterbiev from constantly hitting him with his punches. Movement is important to Bivol, but it won’t win him the fight without him sometimes standing and fighting.

The judges aren’t going to automatically bank Bivol rounds based on three minutes of movement and no punches against Beterbiev. It works for some fighters when they are the A side and fight in their hometowns, but Saturday’s match in Riyadh is on neutral ground for both.