Trainer Greg Hackett feels that Artur Beterbiev is a pure “monster” and is going to be too much for Dmitry Bivol in their undisputed light heavyweight championship on October 12th.
Hackett sees IBF, WBC, and WBO champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) as being “meaner” and too strong for WBA champ Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) to deal with. He thinks Bivol will have his moments early, but Beterbiev will come on in the second half to knock him out.
It’s going to be interesting to see where Bivol goes from here if he loses the fight because there are all these great fights that would be off the table after a loss. He could forget about fighting Canelo Alvarez or David Benavidez. Canelo won’t want to pursue a fighter coming off a knockout loss, and Benavidez will be fighting Beterbiev.
“Bivol will look great early. He might even get Beterbiev to the point where he might stop him, but Beterbiev is going to stop him late in the fight, between nine and eleven,” said trainer Greg Hackett to YSM Sports Media, giving his prediction for the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol fight.
Normally, Bivol is excellent early, but Beterbiev is going to be on him right away and won’t let him rack up rounds like he usually does. There’s too much excitement for Beterbiev to let Bivol dominate the first two or three rounds. Moreover, it would be a bad idea for Beterbiev to fall behind right at the start.
“I respect Bivol. I think he’s a great fighter, but I just think Beterbiev is a meaner fighter, a tougher fighter, and I think he’s super determined. That’s what you got to have to be a champion at anything. Bivol is, too, but Beterbiev is just a different animal,” said Hackett.
The power and the stalking ability that Beterbiev has is going to be a nightmare for Bivol, who hasn’t fought anyone like that before. The toughest guys Bivol has fought during his career were, believe it or not, Craig Richards and Lyndon Arthur. Those fighters gave him trouble, and they’re nowhere near the level of Beterbiev.
“I seen them both in person, but Beterbiev looked unreal. He don’t even look human. I’m not trying to hype him up. He looked like a monster. I think he’s going to catch up to him and break him,” said Hackett.
Bivol puts himself at risk of being hit when he comes forward to throw his combinations. He’s predictable with his offense, and very hittable as we saw in his fight against Canelo Alvarez. He got hit a lot in that fight, but was able to take it due to Canelo’s small size.
“I’m glad we’re getting this fight. It’s for the King of the light heavyweights. Beterbiev has been through a lot. Injuries, and he’s been cut in the ring. Bivol beat Canelo and put in some really good boxing matches against top guys. Now, we’re going to get those two together.
“These are two guys are their best. I love it,” said Hackett.
Beterbiev, 39, isn’t quite at his best, but the form that he showed in his last fight earlier this year against Callum Smith is more than good enough to stop Bivol next week. The power that Beterbiev showed in that fight will be too much for Bivol, who isn’t super human in the chin department.
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