Jai Opetaia believes Artur Beterbiev’s only chance of defeating Dmitry Bivol exists in him stopping his fellow Russian.
Beterbiev and Bivol will contest the undisputed light-heavyweight title at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, in an occasion that will define their careers and determine the finest heavyweight not only in Russia, but of their generation.
The 39-year-old Beterbiev, the IBF, WBO and WBC champion, for all of his boxing abilities, is widely regarded as the biggest puncher in the world, pound for pound.
Bivol, 33 and the WBA champion, established himself as one of the world’s finest boxers when in 2022 he so convincingly defeated Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, then even more widely considered the finest fighter in the world.
There exists speculation that the winner of Saturday’s contest will follow becoming the undisputed champion by moving to cruiserweight to fight Opetaia, who on the undercard defends his IBF title against Jack Massey.
The Australian has, therefore, inevitably assessed both, and told BoxingScene: “It’s a great fight. As a boxing fan, it’s one of the best fights to make at the moment. Perfect style match-up; very exciting.
“[Bivol] keeps his range; cuts angles; he’s got amazing footwork. He keeps people right at the end of his punches.
“Beterbiev’s the complete opposite. He applies such smart pressure; he’s so hard to hit. He looks easy to hit but he’s so hard to hit. He’s got a great jab; he’s got fucking power; he’s got a really good chin, and they both have really high work-rates. They obviously work hard in the gym, because you can’t fake that sort of style. To hold that level for 12 rounds, you get caught out, so they do the hard work.
“It’s exciting. If Bivol can box smart and doesn’t get clipped – if it goes to the scorecards, Bivol’s gonna win. But if somehow Beterbiev hurts him, he could win by knockout. But if it goes to the scorecards, Bivol’s got it, 100 percent.”
Opetaia was then asked about how likely he considered the prospect of him fighting the victor, and responded: “It’s been thrown up. They’ve talked about it a fair bit. If it happens, it happens. If it doesn’t, it doesn’t. Our focus is collecting these [cruiserweight] belts, and if one of those super fights pops up on the way, we’ll take it.
“I’d fight the winner. I think they’ll both be decent cruiserweights; they’ve got great skills for it. Boxing’s changing – it’s not about punching on. Look at the best heavyweight in the world now [Oleksandr Usyk] – he’s got the best footwork. That’s why he’s the best.
“The sport of boxing is about moving; the punching’s the easy part, but when you start adding the footwork; the distance; ticking every box. That’s when you become world champion.”
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