Commentator Teddy Atlas believes Dmitry Bivol has the mental toughness to overcome the punching power of Artur Beterbiev to defeat him on Saturday night. The former trainer Atlas thinks Bivol will handle the steam Beterbiev will be putting on him. Beterbiev vs. Bivo clash will be shown live on ESPN+ this Saturday, October 12th, at 6:00 p.m. ET/3 p.m. PT.
Atlas didn’t mention Beterbiev’s torn meniscus knee injury from which he’s returning. That’s a lot more important than the mental pressure bit that he was harping on in his interview today because if he’s not fully recovered from that, 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 12th, in Riyadh.
Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) defeated one of Atlas’ fighters, Oleksandr Gvozdyk, in October 2019, sending him into retirement after knocking him out in the tenth. It’s unclear if Atlas is still bitter about what Beterbiev did to him. If Atlas is still upset at what Beterbiev did to Gvozdyk, you can understand why he’s picking Bivol to win; he had a good thing going when he was under his wing.
“I think he’ll match Beterbiev in mental toughness. Even though he doesn’t have the look that Beterbiev has, do not sleep on this guy as far as being mentally tough,” said Teddy Atlas to Fighthype, talking about Dmitry Bivol. “I think he’s just as mentally tough in his own way, and I think he will not evaporate.”
Bivol can have all the mental toughness in the world, but if he can’t handle the power and pressure from Beterbiev, it won’t help him. Can Bivol take the head and body shots that Beterbiev will be hitting him with for 12 rounds without folding?
Bivol can’t run the entire fight, and his in-and-out style will result in him getting caught by a big shot from Beterbiev.
“He’s a guy that has a little caution to him. That’s part of his DNA; that’s part of his style, his make up that he’s not a reckless guy,” said Atlas to Probox TV, talking about Bivol. “Beterbiev is not thinking he’s getting reckless, but he’ll roll the dice more. He’ll go to places where there is more risk involved.
“Bivol is not set up that way. He’s set up to box in a fairly careful in a calculated way all the time. So, I don’t see that changing that much. Bivol has always been respectful of power because he’s a defensive-minded fighter, period. If you have no power, he might walk you down a little bit more like any fighter that would adjust to his scenery.
“He’s going to fight his fight, and that’s a strategic, technical surgeon on the outside where he’s looking for your cooperation. If he can use your aggression against you, he looks for that too,” said Atlas.
“He’ll assault you. He puts his punches together in numbers,” said Paulie Malignaggi about Bivol. “He airs on the side of caution, but he never relinquishes control of the fight.”
The combination punching that Bivol has done in the past has been against lesser fighters who didn’t have the power, size, or youth to make him pay for that style.
Bivol will have to use a lot of constant movement to avoid getting caught by Beterbiev because he’s going to be pressured nonstop in this fight.
Bivol’s opponents during his 10-year professional career haven’t been on the level of Beterbiev 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 aren’t on the level of Beterbiev.
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