Dmitri Bivol will face the biggest punch of his career in his light-heavyweight casualty (declared championship fight against unified champion Artur Beterbiev) on October 12 in Riyadh in 19 days. Beterbiev may have too much power for Bivol, who likes to throw combinations and abandon himself. getting open by Beterbiev will be bad for Bivol.
WBA champion Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) is known for his movement and boxing skills, which he used to defeat the likes of Canelo Alvarez and Gilberto Ramirez. However, he hasn’t faced anyone like IBF, WBC and WBO champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs).
Bivol hasn’t fought someone like Beterbiev before, and we don’t know if he’ll be able to use his in-and-out striking style effectively against this type of punch.
Canelo, a natural middleweight in size, was too small to fight Bivol at light heavyweight in 2022. Zurdo Ramirez was slow and limited in his fight against Bivol in November 2022. Bivol may not be as good as some fans thought, and Beterbiev could expose that.
“When I think of what is a machine? It’s Beterbiev more than any other boxer in recent years,” Ade Oladipo said of his YouTube channel, talking about unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev ahead of his fight against Dmitri Bivol on October 12.
“Some thought Callum Smith was going to Canada and taking the titles with him. Beterbiev destroyed him. That’s when I thought this guy was the real deal. Then there is Dmitry Bivol. I think he is poetry in motion.
“You have someone (Beterbiev) who will tear you down, and you have someone who is poetry in motion. Bivol doesn’t have that outstanding CV of Beterbiev,” said Ade.
Beterbiev’s best wins:
– Oleksandr Gvozdyk
– Callum Smith
– Callum Johnson
– Marcus Browne
– Anthony Yarde
– Joe Smith Jr.
Bivol’s best wins include beating Joe Smith Jr., Canelo and Gilberto Ramirez. His resume is similar to Beterbiev’s, but not quite as good.
“Bivol shut down Canelo. You can’t sleep on that gig. It was a Canelo that was at the forefront that that fight was on the run.”
“At the time I didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary, but of course it was. When he looks back, he hits me on the arms and stomps me all over,” Callum Johnson told Secondsout about his fight against Artur Beterbiev in 2018.
“Will his age affect him? At some point it will. Will the knee surgery affect him?” Johnson asked about Beterbiev.
The recent knee surgery Beterbiev has put a question mark on whether he will be able to withstand the stress of facing a car like Bivol. Not just the movement. Bivol may choose to lean on Beterbiev during the clinches to wear down his knee and weaken him.
Is Bivol coming on October 12? 👑#BeterbievBivol | #Riyadh Season | Oct 12, live on DAZN | @turk_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/Q7tQgrDX4o
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) September 23, 2024
