Chris Algieri believes we could see Artur Beterbiev knocked out by WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol on October 12. Algieri feels Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) has the ability to take down Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) at some point in their main event at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
It’s hard to imagine Bivol dropping IBF, WBC, and WBO champion Beterbiev when he failed to knock down Lyndon Arthur, Gilberto Ramirez, Canelo Alvarez, Craig Richards or Joe Smith.
If Bivol can knock out those fighters, it doesn’t seem reasonable to think he’ll be able to knock out Beterbiev. Bivol won’t want to risk sitting down on his shots in front of Beterbiev and getting cut. That’s possible though, even with Bivol using his usual hit-and-run style.
“Don’t be surprised if Bivol catches Beterbiev square at some point in this fight, which should bother everyone because you’re looking at a boxer who puts a puncher down on the mat,” said Chris Algieri on Probox TV, discussing the possibility. of Dmitry Bivol knocking out Artur Beterbiev during their fight.
“We have seen Beterbiev on the floor. We’ve seen Bivol hit some pretty impressive knockdowns and knockouts. Therefore, it would not be unusual to see that situation happen,” said Algieri.
The only true knockdown Beterbiev suffered was against Callum Johnson in 2018, but it wasn’t a bad one. He got up and knocked out Johnson in the next round. Earlier in his career, Beterbiev was knocked out by Jeff Page Jr. with a flash.
“Beterbiev is a very good boxer with a deep background, and we’ve seen his ability show recently as he’s gotten older. I’m not sure if it’s because he’s not as violent as he used to be. “He has to be smart and very deceptive when he comes in,” Algieri said.
Beterbiev is fighting bigger punchers more recently than ever in his career, and he’s had to be careful defensively. If Beterbiev had fought guys like Callum Smith and Anthony Yarde earlier in his career, he would have been more cautious about attacking them.
“We see him using his jab, closing the distance, and positioning himself a lot better. Bivol is certainly no puncher, but he can punch enough to be respected. Even in the Canelo fight, he was able to cut off the offensive machine from Canelo with his strength, his boxing ability, and his combination of punches and the intensity of his shots. This is a very complicated game, with mistakes,” said Algieri.
Canelo Alvarez was very troubled by the three-punch combination that Bivol was throwing in their fight in 2022, and he didn’t have the size or power to make him pay. If Bivol was Canelo’s size, he wouldn’t have fought like that without being knocked out because he was putting himself at risk against him due to being a much bigger guy.
“He talks about Bivol’s piercing power. We saw sharp right hands. They surprised you with their speed. They cheat, all of a sudden, you see him go down on the right hand, and guys get hurt,” said Paulie Malignaggi.
Bivol has good power in his right hand, but it’s not at the level of some of Beterbiev’s recent opponents. These former Beterbiev knockout victims have better strength than Bivol:
– Anthony Yarde
– Callum Smith
– Radivoje Kalajdzic
– Joe Smith Jr.
– Oleksandr Gvozdyk
– Callum Johnson
Bivol could be a better puncher if he wasn’t so focused on his entry and exit style. He is always thinking of his exit strategy and is not willing to stand flat-footed to load his shots with power. Perhaps another reason for that is that Bivol has been injured in the past, and he doesn’t want to take the chance of being tagged too hard.
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