Dmitry Bivol will have to stand in the pocket and get Artur Beterbiev’s respect at some point, or else he will get mowed down on October 12th.
The movement that WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) uses won’t be sufficient to keep IBF, WBC, and WBO champ Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) from getting to him to force firefights.
Beterbiev vs. Bivol will meet in 15 days on October 12th, live on DAZN PPV at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The two unbeaten champions will determine who the King of the 175-lb division will be in this clash.
Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn promotes Bivol, and he’s counting on him to come through. Bivol needs to capture the undisputed championship to lure Canelo Alvarez to come up to 175 to face him.
Without the four titles, Bivol’s chances of a lucrative rematch with Canelo fall off because the Mexican star wants the opportunity to become undisputed.
“It’s not possible. There’s going to have to be a time where he stands his ground and trades because it’s not just about movement because Beterbiev can move,” said Ade Oladipo to Pro Boxing Fans about the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol match-up on October 12th.
Bivol will obviously try to move to evade Beterbiev and keep out of the way the big shots. This is Canelo that Bivol is fighting, and he won’t have a massive size advantage like he did against him two years ago when they fought in 2022. Beterbiev is bigger, stronger and has an inside game that makes him dangerous.
“Beterbiev is a great mover. People forget that. His amateur record tells me he can move and box,” said Ade. “He’s just become this puncher, and why move when you can punch the way he can punch? He can fight.
“We have seen Beterbiev go down. We have seen him hurt,” said Ade about Beterbiev’s fight against Callum Johnson in October 2018. “When you got into the area of the pocket, there’s a problem, but he [Bivol] may have to stay there and fight. If he does, he’s going to risk getting knocked out, but he’s going to have to.”
The guy who knocked Beterbiev down, Callum Johnson, was a big puncher, and he caught him with a big shot in their fight six years ago. Beterbiev got back up and quickly knocked out Johnson in the fourth round. Johnson is a bigger puncher than Bivol.
That was the only guy that stunned Beterbiev, but it wasn’t bad. Earlier in Beterbiev’s career, he was dropped by Jeff Page, but it was a flash knockdown in 2014. Beterbiev got back up and knocked out Page in the second round.
“You’ve got Beterbiev, who just knocks out people and is destructive, and you’ve got Bivol, who is a mover. They’ve both cleaned up the light heavyweight division. Is undisputed #1 vs. #2 or is there someone else that could be involved? I don’t even know who #3 is. This is so #1 vs. #2. #3 is so far away. I could be Benavidez. It could be Buatsi. It could be Yarde. I don’t know.
“This is, without a doubt, #1 vs. #2. You know I’m Team Bivol. You already know what, but it’s going to be a great fight,” said Ade.
David Benavidez and David Morrell both recently moved up to 175. So those two along with Joshua Buatsi and Anthony Yarde would have to fight to determine who the #3 guy is behind Beterbiev and Bivol.
Boxer Artur Beterbiev arrives in preparation for his showdown against Russian Dmitry Bivol at #IVCrownShowdown and the #RiyadhSeason opening 🥊🔥
Book your ticket now 👇 https://t.co/kKzH9hTzIn#BigTime pic.twitter.com/rycTGKOKgJ
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) September 27, 2024
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