Eddie Hearn Says Beterbiev Looks Over
Eddie Hearn says Artur Beterbiev looked “weary” yesterday ahead of his fight with Dmitry Bivol this Saturday. Hearn feels unified light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) is struggling, and may not be at his best this Saturday, October 12, in Riyadh.
(Credit: Leigh Dawney/Queensberry Promotions)
“If you look back at the Gvozdyk fight, it was really close, but he almost survived and then got knocked out,” said Eddie Hearn talking to Queensberry about how Oleksandr Gvozdyk fought Artur Beterbiev well until the tenth round and he was knocked out.
Gvozdyk had success in the first eight rounds against Beterbiev because he used his strength to land a number of hard shots that impressed the judges and made Artur wary of attacking him. Bivol doesn’t hit as hard as Gvozdyk, and he won’t be able to catch Beterbiev to build a big early lead.
“Beterbiev does not act early. Even against Callum Smith he was taking his time,” said Hearn. “He was still winning rounds, but it wasn’t like he came out swinging. Pressure, pressure, pressure, but I think Dmitry has the volume to win those early rounds. You have to get rid of them, and hold on to your life,” said Hearn.
Bivol can win some early rounds, but he will be under a lot of pressure, and that will wear him down. He can’t move and take a heavy shot for eight or nine rounds without exhaling from the pressure put on him.
“Dmitry says he can do 168. “I looked at pictures of Beterbiev yesterday,” said Hearn. “He was very reluctant to drop his shorts. I thought he looked exhausted. Don’t get me wrong. He’s still a total monster, but five days out, Dmitry is very comfortable with his weight.”
Hearn may be playing mind games, hoping to get into Beterbiev’s head by planting the impression that he looks tired. I don’t think it will work, but that could be Hearn’s plan. He must try every trick in the book to help Bivol win.
“Beterbiev has been talking about moving up to cruiserweight, but he has been at light heavyweight for a long time. So, for me, that’s a guy who’s going to be very strong in weight. I don’t think it will make a huge difference, but I like that Dmitry is very good at weight because he will need that engine. “He’s going to have to throw a lot of punches there to keep Beterbiev out,” said Hearn.
The reason Beterbiev has talked about wanting to move up to cruiserweight is not because he has trouble making the 175 weight. He wants to move up to win more belts, and he won’t do that if he defeats WBA champion Bivol on Saturday. Beterbiev will hold all the titles in the light heavyweight division, and there will be no more to gain.
“Can he hurt Beterbiev? I know he stopped Zinad and fell [Lyndon] Arthur. “But for me it’s about the volume, and it’s about the feet,” Hearn said.
Bivol can hurt Beterbiev if he is willing to stand in the pocket and reduce his volume, but to do that, Bivol can be caught and taken out. Coach Bivol won’t take any chances with him taking that tactic, and even if he tells him to do that, he’ll focus on getting out.
⏳ 3 days to hang out with King Artur. #BeterbievBivol | OCT 12 6PM ET | @ESPNPlus | #RiyadhSeason pic.twitter.com/emlZjLdVFM
– Top Rank Boxing (@trboxing) October 10, 2024