Dmitry Bivol is working on his speed and movement in finishing the last two weeks of preparation for his undisputed light heavyweight contest against unified 175-lb champion Artur Beterbiev on October 12th in the Riyadh Season event.
Bivol looks frantic with the pace of his workout, pushing himself hard in a signal that he’s going to focus on his speed and movement to defeat Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) by a decision.
Many believe that Bivol will fold under Beterbiev’s pressure and that the wind will stop in the mid-rounds if he lasts that long. Bivol came close to losing to pressure fighter Craig Richards in 2021, and the fight showed his weakness in dealing with fighters who don’t let him breathe.
It would be too risky for WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) to mix it up with IBF, WBC, and WBO champ Beterbiev as he did Canelo Alvarez or his last opponent, Malik Zinad.
Beterbiev is well aware of what tactics Bivol will utilize because he’s seen that style before in the amateurs many times in Eastern Europe. Oleksandr Usyk was an example of Beterbiev fighting a combination puncher who moved a lot.
Beterbiev lost to Usyk in the 2012 Olympics by a questionable decision after hurting him. In their fight in 2011, Beterbiev dropped Usyk with a body shot and had him hurt in the World Amateur Championships in Baku, Azerbaijan. However, if those fights had been 12 rounds, there’s a very good chance that Beterbiev would have knocked him out because he had him in bad shape in their three-rounders.
“I don’t want to talk about this fight because it’s Canelo. It’s not our division,” said Artur Beterbiev to Queensberry when asked about the praise that Dmitry Bivol received for defeating Canelo Alvarez in 2022.
Canelo Alvarez moved up from 168 to challenge Bivol for his WBA light heavyweight title in 2022, and he was too small. Alvarez started his career as a middleweight, and he’s always been small for the 168-lb division. Going up to 175 to challenge Bivol was a crazy idea, and he paid the price.
“No, I’m not a good boxer yet. Even Muhammad Ali lost fights,” said Beterbiev when asked if he was afraid of losing to Bivol. “I’m not thinking about that. I’m always trying to be ready for my opponents.”
Even if Beterbiev is concerned about losing to Bivol, it won’t prevent him from going full out, looking to score a knockout in the fight. Any fighter is worried ab out losing when facing good opposition.
“It’s a good scenario. I would like to try this to go up when I’m done with this category. It’s good,” said Beterbiev about going up to cruiserweight to challenge IBF champion Jai Opetaia if he’s victorious against Bivol.
Beterbiev would have an excellent chance of defeating Opetaia because that guy does not handle getting hit back. We saw how Opetaia came unglued in his recent match against Mairis Briedis when he started taking punishment, and he was lucky to get the victory.
That fight showed that Opetaia wasn’t what some fans had thought he was. Against Beterbiev, Opetaia will get exposed and knocked out. The cruiserweight division is weak, allowing fighters like Opetaia to rise to the top. At light heavyweight, he wouldn’t be a champion.
“I do actions to make happen these things [to capture all the belts at light heavyweight]. I’ve had fights in Moscow, United States and in England. I’ve had some amazing shows, and now in Saudi Arabia. They’ve done a big show for this fight. I’m a lucky person,” said Beterbiev.
🚨 @bivol_d is preparing for a storm 🌩️#BeterbievBivol | #RiyadhSeason | Oct 12, live on DAZN | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/XILTB2Apc0
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) September 29, 2024
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