Bob Arum Wants Artur Beterbiev To Fight Bivol, Canelo Or Benavidez Next, Not Eifert

Promoter Bob Arum wants Artur Beterbiev to skip his recently ordered IBF Michael Eifert to face Dmitry Bivol, Canelo Alvarez, or David Benavidez next.

Top Rank manager Arum doesn’t want undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) to bother with Eifert (13-1, 5 KOs), who is completely unknown to US fans and has absolutely no appeal.

Given Beterbiev’s age, long career, and recent injuries, it wouldn’t make sense for him to use one of his last important fights in his career to defend against an unknown fighter like the 26-year-old Eifert, who is coming off his best win recently. Jean Pascal is 40 years old.

Arum will jump at the chance to set up a fight between Beterbiev and Canelo Alvarez if the Mexican star shows interest in moving up to 175 to challenge for his four belts.

Honorable Turki Alalshikh says he wants Beterbiev and Bivol to fight a rematch after their fight last Saturday night in Riyadh. Eddie Hearn is promoting Bivol, and he may be able to persuade Turki to go for a rematch instead of a much bigger fight involving Canelo or Benavidez against Beterbiev.

Fans Want Canelo for Beterbiev

Turki won over Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs), but the judges scored against Beterbiev, who is the IBF, WBC champion, and Beterbiev was the one who attacked the entire second round, hurting Bivol several times, and making him run away. .

It would be good for the American fans if Canelo chose to fight Beterbiev because that is a better match than a rematch with Bivol, who is a defensive player who played keep-away all night. Canelo would make the fans happy.

“Bob Arum told me he intends to encourage Beterbiev to skip the IBF commitment against Michael Eifert to fight Bivol again, Benavidez, or Canelo,” Keith Idec told X about promoter Bob Arum’s pursuit of the champion Undisputed light heavyweight Artur Beterbiev faces Canelo. , Bivol or Benavidez next.

As long as Beterbiev is willing to relinquish his IBF title if necessary to skip the Eifert fight, we could see him fight Bivol, Canelo, or Benavidez next. If Canelo chooses not to move up to 175 to challenge Beterbiev, the winner of the David Benavidez vs. David Morrell on January 25 would be a good choice.

Bivol could be the third choice because the fight is not that attractive, and we already know how he will be running for 12 rounds, trying to win by doing at least.

What we don’t need is Beterbiev defeating Bivol for the second time and Hearn complaining that he should have won, urging the sanctions agencies to order a trilogy, crying to Turki that a third match is needed. At some point, Hearn and Bivol have to accept that they are not good enough and get behind the line with the other fighters beaten by Beterbiev.

Crawford’s Last Resort?

“I think that fight is possible if the Beterbiev-Bivol rematch goes forward, I think that will leave Canelo out there on an island where he will probably want to have a big fight where he can’t compete and play like other fights. ,” Antonio Tarver told Fighthype about the possibility of Canelo Alvarez choosing to fight Terence Crawford if he doesn’t move up to 175 to challenge Artur Beterbiev for his uncontested light heavyweight title.

Canelo would be more open to fighting Crawford if he shows he’s not just looking at retirement by moving up to 168 and proving himself against one of the killers in the division instead of asking for a match. It’s hard for Canelo to take Crawford seriously, as he is undefeated in his debut at 154 against Israel Madrimov on August 3, and is fishing for a two-fight celebrity contract with former UFC champion Conor McGregor.

“So, if he doesn’t fight Beterbiev and Beterbiev gives Bivol a rematch, I think it would be a good time to bring Canelo-Crawford out in the open to see how that plays out to see both legends get what they get. I want to go down.

“You have to say because of the size and strength, with Bud going up, you have to favor Canelo because of that. But I’m still going to look at a guy like Crawford, if anyone can upset Canelo at that level going up, it would be a guy with Crawford’s ability and Crawford’s toughness.”

Canelo has said that he is not interested in fighting Crawford because if he doesn’t win, he will be criticized regardless of how the match goes down. Crawford’s trainer, Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre, just let the cat out of the bag, stating how they plan to implement Floyd Mayweather Jr.’s plan. and Dmitry Bivol against Canelo. That means there will be some back and forth in the ring. Canelo doesn’t want to fight a fighter his age, and you can’t blame him.

“That last fight with Madrimov showed a lot. He showed a lot with his boxing,” Tarver said of Crawford looking good and bad during his 154 debut against WBA champion Israel Madrimov on August 3. “A lot of times, you don’t have to hit to control someone in the ring.

“So, Bud was in control, and he knew he wasn’t going to stop there in the trade. So, he boxed him and resisted him, going in and out all night. He made Madrimov desperate in the end, although Madrimov stayed there. I knew it would be a tough fight, but Bud passed every test. We knew he had a chin. He cracked a few times with multiple right hands. That’s what I was looking to see. Can he take a punch at a 154-pounder?”

Crawford passed the test until he beat the fourth or fifth fighter at 154, but he didn’t show the kind of skill that would allow him to beat the top guys. In other words, Crawford reached his ceiling with his fight with Madrimov, and if he were to face better fighters in the junior middleweight division, he would lose. Moving up to 168 to fight Canelo would be a bargain. Crawford will be too young, weak, and old to defeat the Mexican star.

Questions about Crawford’s readiness for War In 168

“We knew that Madrimov is not Canelo or any of these other guys. He is as strong as an ox. So, Crawford proved he had a chin, but I don’t think he liked being touched by the 154-pounders. It’s not a good thing. It’s different. “That weight with that boxer is a little different,” said Tarver.

It looked like Crawford wasn’t enjoying eating those right hands from Madrimov. There was one streak where Crawford was hit five times in a row by right hands from Madrimov, and each shot cracked his head. If Madrimov had been more aggressive in the championship rounds, he may have knocked Crawford out. That was Madrimov’s mistake in choosing to punch rather than finish.

“Oh, the perfect warrior. Bud proved it, a puncher and a counter-puncher. He can do everything,” Tarver said when asked if Crawford proved he’s a complete player in his last bout against Madrimov. “Inoue is one of those fighters and Canelo is one of those fighters. It takes a lot of experience to be a perfect fighter.”

Crawford didn’t prove to be a puncher at 154 in his fight with Madrimov. His strength didn’t look intimidating at all in that fight, and it seemed clear that he wasn’t going to be the heavyweight champion he was at 147, 140, or 135. That may explain why Crawford has shown no interest in fighting other champions in the 154 years since the Madrimov fight, which he has never won.

“There is a gap here. They want to go up there without the experience factor, and if you don’t get the experience, you have to get the experience somewhere, from someone who has it,” said Tarver.