Super middleweight contender Erik Bazinyan is predicting a knockout victory for IBF/WBC/WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev over WBA champ Dmitry Bivol in their undisputed 175-lb championship clash on October 12th on ESPN+ at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Bazinyan: ‘Bivol Has Never Been Hit Like This’
Bazinyan (32-0-1, 23 KOs) has sparred with Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) before and noted how hard he hits. He feels that Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) has never been hit by the kind of shots that Beterbiev will be hitting him with next month, and he’s getting to get knocked out.
Fans unfamiliar with Beterbiev pick Bivol and expect him to give the slower, older Beterbiev a boxing lesson on October 12th. Those fans are basing their opinions on how Bivol looked beating the 5’8″ Canelo Alvarez in 2022, but that was a completely different type of fighter than Beterbiev.
Bivol will have to fight the perfect match against Beterbiev to avoid getting knocked out in this fight because he doesn’t handle getting hit well and will need to be on his bike for 12 rounds to avoid getting destroyed.
When Beterbiev punches, it looks like he’s not throwing very hard because he doesn’t load up on his shots, and many of his punches are short. However, the power that Beterbiev gets from those short punches does damage, and he takes away the ability of runners like Bivol to clinch to survive. That means Bivol will need to stay on the move for the full 12 rounds to keep from getting bludgeoned by Beterbiev, and he’s not shown the ability to do that.
Beterbiev’s Smart Fighting Style
“It gave me a lot of experience. He hits super, super hard,” said Erick Bazinyan to the Fighthype YouTube channel about his sparring with unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev ahead of his clash against WBA champ Dmitry Bivol on October 12th in Riyadh.
“He’s the real deal, and it gave me a lot of experience to know what it feels like to get hit so hard. You always have to be careful and keep your hands up. Sometimes, just go on the basics. Jabs, move, and not make one mistake.” said Bazinyan.
Bivol will be jabbing and moving for the entire fight because he knows what will happen if he tries to fight Beterbeiv like he did against Canelo and Malik Zinad. He was hurt by Lyndon Arthur last December, and he’s not going to take any chances in this fight against Beterbiev because he doesn’t possess the chin to take his shots for more than three rounds without crumbling.
“So, I’ve been there with many world champions,” said Bazinyan. “I’ve sparred with many guys. So, I know what it feels like to get hit to go to high-level elite sparring. I think Bivol is going to try with his style with footwork, but I think Artur [Beterbiev] is going to win because I don’t think Bivol got hit that well in professional boxing. I think Artur is going to stop him.”
Bivol definitely hasn’t been with anyone close to Beterbiev’s level during his career. He tried to slug with Lyndon Arthur and was hurt, and spent the last half of the fight on the run, boring the crowd at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
“Artur is a smart fighter. People think he’s a beast, but he’s a smart fighter also. He’s going to use his jab and right straight to the body. He’s going to pick up then. He’s going to use small punches, but it hurts,” said Bazinyan about Beterbiev.
The fans who favor Bivol fail to notice Beterbiev’s powerful short punches, which do damage to his faster opponents. Beterbiev is also dangerous because of his countering ability. He throws hard punches in between the combinations his opponents are throwing, and he does damage with those shots.
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