Artur Beterbiev is working out with contender Craig Richards to prepare for his fight against Dmitry Bivol on October 12th in Riyadh. Richards. This is the perfect guy for Beterbiev to work with because it allows him to pick Richard’s brain to get tips for what bothers Bivol.
Three years ago, Richards gave Bivol his toughest career test, coming close to defeating him in May 2021 in Manchester, England. Bivol edged Richards, winning a 12-round unanimous decision by the scores 118-110, 115-113, and 115-114. Richards showed that Bivol can dish it out, but he can’t take it in return. He had no heart for the type of fighting that Beterbiev thrives on.
Many fans felt that Richards deserved the win because he’d landed the harder shots and had Bivol afraid to engage after getting hit hard in the first two rounds. Once Bivol got a taste of Richard’s power early, he was very cautious.
It was similar to Bivol’s fight with Lyndon Arthur. Bivol was brave initially, but after he got tagged by Arthur, he fought timidly. What the Richards and Lyndon fights showed is that Bivol doesn’t react well to taking hard blows to the head. He’ll do anything to avoid getting punched hard once he’s tagged early.
IBF, WBC, and WBO light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) is finishing the final two weeks of training before meeting WBA champ Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) in 18 days at the Kingdom Arena. The October 12th Beterbiev-Bivol event will be shown live on DAZN PPV.
🕷️ @craiglrichards putting @ABeterbiev through his paces a few weeks out from the big one 😮💨 #BeterbievBivol | #RiyadhSeason | Oct 12, live on DAZN | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/CLNX72FN34
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) September 24, 2024
It’s clear from Bivol’s fights against Craig Richards, Lyndon Artur, and Joe Smith that he’ll go out of his way to avoid getting hit once he’s nailed hard. Bivol may start off well, but he becomes skittish and looks vulnerable when he takes a hard headshot.
Bivol is an excellent boxer, but his courage disappears under battlefield conditions. In other words, Bivol is one of those fighters that can give it but can’t take it.
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