Shawn Porter feels that Artur Beterbiev has too much wear and tear from his fights to defeat the less exhausted Dmitri Bivol this Saturday in their undisputed light heavyweight championship on October 12 in Riyadh.
Former welterweight champion Porter says the 33-year-old Bivol’s youth (23-0, 12 KOs) is also a factor in his favor against the 39-year-old Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) in their 12-round main event at the Kingdom Arena.
WBA 175-lb champion Bivol has made a habit of avoiding grueling fights as much as possible, which is why he has fewer knockouts than Beterbiev. The downside of that safety-first approach to his career is that Bivol is less popular than IBF, WBC and WBO champion Beterbiev and not talked about as much.
“I can’t pick him right now, but if Bivol is standing there and he lands, it’s good night, Vienna,” trainer Joe Gallagher said. Boxing Newsand choose Dmitri Bivol over Artur Beterbiev.
“I pick Beterbiev, but only because I was in Vegas and talked to someone who sparred with him. He said, ‘Oh man, that guy. Sparring with him for four rounds is like fighting for 20 rounds. He’s like a monster,’” Regis Prograis said. “He spared him and Bivol. He was like, ‘Beterbiev is a killer, an absolute monster.’ So, I’ll lean towards Beterbiev.”
The power that Beterbiev has makes him a nightmare for anyone to spar with unless he takes it easy on them. He is not the type to go light in his sparring sessions, because in that case he gets nothing out of it.
“I can’t see past Beterbiev, but Bivol’s quality is really good. He is technically very good,” said Paul Smith. “I just think to see Beterbiev up close a few times. I think I side with Beterbiev. I think he’ll get to him eventually, but it’s not a foregone conclusion.”
“I think one thing in Bivol’s favor is that Beterbiev has had a couple of injuries and just had a big injury that he’s coming off of. This can play a bit in Bivol’s favor,” said Otto Wallin.
“Bivol is winning that battle. I think he has youth on his side,” Shawn Porter said. “Beterbiev was a Mack truck that ran into smaller trucks and other big trucks. Those kinds of collisions will catch up with you at some point.
The only fights in which Beterbiev was penalized were between Marcus Browne and Anthony Yarde. He took some shots in both fights, especially against the heavy-handed Browne, but he still wore them to get the knockout.
“The kilometers that Bivol has are just different from the kilometers that Beterbiev has. I think Bivol wins. We will see. Bivol can be touched, but is Beterbiev fast enough?”
The mileage Porter talks about may not prevent Beterbiev from winning the fight, as his power is just as lethal as it would be if he had less mileage, and he hasn’t shown any problems with his chin. If Bivol is going to take advantage of Beterbiev’s age and ring attire, he will have to fight him. Doing so would be risky.
