Three-time undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev will take on WBA champion Dmitry Bivol on Saturday night in their undisputed title clash at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. The fight will be shown live on DAZN PPV, along with the undercard.
This fight should be 50-50, but fans need to be ready to see a full contest with Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) who is very strong and tough on the fissesse fighter Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs).
Fans are hoping to see the fight in the ring on Saturday, but they haven’t seen Bivol’s fight yet. He is not that type of fighter. He’s still a boxer, and he doesn’t like getting into firefights because of his history of trauma.
“These are the best games. It puts the most stylish fighter in the world in my mind. That’s Dmitry Bivol against Artur Beterbiev who is very destructive,” said commentator Mark Kriegel on Top Rank Boxing.
I don’t think this is the best matchup in the light heavyweight division, but it is one of the best. There are a lot of exciting guys in the 175-lb division that could give Arthur a fight that is good for the fans.
– David Benavidez
– Anthony Yarde: *repeat
– David Morrell
– Joshua Buatsi
– Wily Hutchinson
“Artur Beterbiev brings three belts to the table, but Dmitry Bivol brings that one belt. It’s very important because he beat Canelo Alvarez [in 2022]. That means he is a high level competitor,” said analyst Bernard Osuna. “This is a tough fight. You can see it going either way. “This man is a destructive force and when he gets going, a freight train just runs over him,” Osuna said of Beterbiev.
I don’t see this as a fight that could go either way, but I’ve watched Beterbierv and Bivol their entire career. This is a catch-and-mouse type of fight, which could get boring if Dmitry chooses to go all night like he did against Lyndon Arthur and Canelo Alvarez.
“This is a fight that is good for the fans. I think this is the biggest fight in boxing because all the belts are on the line, but only one can win. That man will have to be at the highest level he’s ever been in his entire career,” said analyst Tim Bradley. “Is this one of the best fights to be made in boxing? Definitely, yes, because we don’t know who will win the war.
“It is a war of unity. It is a great motivation for me,” said Artur Beterbiev. “Yes, I am happy. It is my goal to become a unified world champion. I try to be ready for every fight, and I want to prove something.”
Beterbiev may have had better fights than Bivol during his professional career, and he was robbed at the 2012 London Olympics after dominating Ukraine’s Oleksandr Usyk. Artur’s victories over Oleksandr Gvozdyk, Anthony Yarde and Callum Smith were against fighters who are arguably better talents than Bivol. They just haven’t been compared to him.
“What is the minimum? The main thing is to collect all the belts. Okay, this is my highest number,” said Bivol. “This is boxing, and you have to be ready for all situations.”
It doesn’t get any better than this from Bivol because whatever comes after this isn’t going to be great. Two-time Olympian Beterbiev has been a force of nature since turning pro, and it would say a lot for Bivol if he could be the guy to beat him for the first time. On the other hand, it is not the end of the world for Bivol if he loses. He’s young enough at 33 to come back and still capture more belts.
Beterbiev is likely to drop his four titles and move up to cruiserweight if he wins on Saturday, leaving different belts undefeated. As long as the knockout loss to Beterbiev doesn’t hurt Bivol’s punching ability, he should be able to come back and claim one of the belts after leaving the division.
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