Commentator Teddy Atlas believes Dmitri Bivol has the mental toughness to overcome the punching power of Artur Beterbiev to defeat him on Saturday night. Former coach Atlas thinks Bivol will handle the steam that Beterbiev will put on him. Beterbiev vs. Bivo collision will be shown live on ESPN+ this Saturday, October 12th, at 6pm ET/3pm PT.
Atlas did not mention Beterbiev’s torn meniscus knee injury from which he is returning. This is much more important than the mental pressure he listened to in his interview today, because if he hasn’t fully recovered from it, Bivol will take advantage.
Atlas feels that Bivol will use his movement and skills to outbox IBF, WBC and WBO light heavyweight champion Beterbiev in their undisputed championship this Saturday, October 12, in Riyadh.
Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) defeated one of Atlas’ fighters, Oleksandr Gvozdyk, in October 2019, sending him to retirement after knocking him out in the tenth. It is unclear whether Atlas is still bitter about what Beterbiev did to him. If Atlas is still upset about what Beterbiev did to Gvozdyk, you can understand why he picks Bivol to win; he had a good thing going when he was under his wing.
“I think he will match Beterbiev in mental toughness. Even though he doesn’t have the looks that Beterbiev has, don’t sleep on this guy as far as being mentally tough,” said Teddy Atlas. Battle hypetalk about Dmitri Bivol. “I think he’s just so mentally tough in his own way, and I think he won’t evaporate.”
Bivol can have all the mental toughness in the world, but if he can’t handle the power and pressure of Beterbiev, it won’t help him. Can Bivol take the head and body shots Beterbiev will throw at him for 12 rounds without folding?
Bivol can’t run the entire fight, and his in-and-out style will lead to him getting caught by a big shot from Beterbiev.
“He’s a guy who has a little bit of caution about him. It’s part of his DNA; it’s part of his style, his makeup that he’s not a reckless guy,” Atlas said Probox TVtalking about Bivol. “Beterbiev does not think he is becoming reckless, but he will roll the dice more. He will go to places where there is more risk.
“Bivol is not set up that way. He is set to box quite carefully all the time in a calculated manner. So, I don’t see it changing that much. Bivol has always been respectful of power because he is a defensive minded fighter, period. If you have no power, he might walk you down a bit more like any fighter that will adapt to his scenery.
“He’s going to fight his battle, and it’s a strategic, technical surgeon on the outside where he’s looking for your cooperation. If he can use your aggression against you, he’s looking for that too,” Atlas said.
“He will assault you. He puts his punches together in numbers,” Paulie Malignaggi said about Bivol. “He errs on the side of caution, but he never relinquishes control of the fight.”
The combination punching Bivol has done in the past has been against lesser fighters who lacked the strength, size or youth to make him pay for that style.
Bivol will need to use a lot of constant movement to avoid getting caught by Beterbiev because he will be pressured non-stop in this fight.
Bivol’s opponents during his 10-year professional career were not on Beterbiev’s level in terms of ability to pressure, power and ability. Bivol’s best wins were against faded fighters Canelo Alvarez, Sullivan Barrera and Jean Pascal. He almost lost to Craig Richards in 2021 and struggled against Lyndon Arthur. Those guys are not on the level of Beterbiev.
