Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol have one week to go before they meet for the four-belt undisputed 175-lb championship next Saturday, October 12th, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The fight will be streamed live on DAZN PPV along with the undercard.
Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs), the IBF, WBC, and WBO light heavyweight champion, looks ready for destruction against WBA champ Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs).
Fans wonder whether Beterbiev’s surgically repaired right knee is 100%. He’s making a rapid return to the ring after surgery to repair a meniscus tear, which could limit his mobility.
Fans have been looking forward to this fight, as it’ll show who the #1 guy is in a well-stocked light heavyweight division. Bivol’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, says there’s no rematch clause for the fight, but he says they could fight again if it’s competitive.
If Bivol gets knocked out, Hearn might persuade him to go in another direction rather than facing Beterbiev and getting knocked out a second time. He’d like for Bivol to face Canelo Alvarez next, and it doesn’t matter if he does into the fight off the back of a loss to Beterbiev. That makes sense because if Bivol gets beaten twice by Beterbiev, the Canelo rematch is no longer a viable option.
“That’s a tough fight. Before the injury, I had Artur winning, but I feel like now, Artur isn’t going to be able to move his feet as good to catch up to Bivol. Bivol might just box him for 12 rounds,” said Curmel Moton to YSM Sports Media.
The knee injury makes it tough to favor Beterbiev in this fight, but perhaps he rehabbed it enough for it to be ready. If it’s 100%, Beterbiev has an excellent chance of winning this fight because Bivol isn’t a big puncher, has a weak chin, and has a poor inside game.
“I spoke to some of Artur’s old sparring partners, who did thousands of rounds with him, and they said, ‘He’s something different.’ They say, ‘He’s something crazy.’ I think right now, I’m leaning towards Artur a little bit. I like Bivol, though. If I had to bet, I’d put my money on Artur,” said Moton.
“Just be himself, really. Stay sharp, don’t let Artur catch him and keep boxing him,” said Moton on what Bivol must do to defeat Beterbiev. “I feel like he’s going to have to catch Artur with something to make him respect him so that he doesn’t come too crazy. He’s going to have to sit down on a few of his shots.”
One more week ☝🏻 pic.twitter.com/JqvcZofIQN
— Artur Beterbiev (@ABeterbiev) October 5, 2024
Beterbiev Jab And His Inside Work Are Going To Overwhelm Bivol Early And Beterbiev Will Push For The Stoppage 7-10 🥊🥊🥊🔥🇷🇺🇷🇺🇷🇺 #BeterbievBivol pic.twitter.com/eMmM9TtMf5
— Joe Boxing 🥊🥊✝️✝️✝️🥊🥊 (@Joseph321432332) October 4, 2024
