Oleksandr Gvozdyk recommends that Dmitry Bivol “run away” from Artur Beterbiev, don’t drop the punch, and stay off the ropes next Saturday in their undisputed lightweight championship fight in Riyadh.
Former WBC 175-lb champion Gvozdyk was the favorite when he beat Beterbiev five years ago on October 18, 2019, but was knocked out in the tenth round.
Gvozdyk was ahead of two of the judges’ scorecards with scores of 87-83, 86-85 while the third had 87-83 at the time of the stoppage in the tenth. Gvozdyk showed that Beterbiev can be outboxed for long stretches, but it doesn’t take much to turn the fight around with his power.
Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) is more mobile and a better combination puncher than Gvozdyk was then, but not as powerful or as robust in the chin department. For this fight, Bivol must drop his punching combination because that would leave him vulnerable to Beterbiev’s counter-punching. It is like a shark that preys on its food game to come to him, looking for land.
“He is very smart, he has good footwork, and he has a very good and accurate jab,” Oleksandr Gvozdyk told Round Eight Boxingtalking about Dmitry Bivol. “These are two different styles of fighters. Beterbiev is a brawler; he comes and is relentless. He is very strong and also very smart. People underestimate his boxing skills.
“Yes, because of his style, he just comes and breaks everyone,” Gvozdyk said when asked if people underestimate Beterbiev’s technical ability. “People think he can only do this, but he can still box.”
Beterbiev is mostly a boxer, but his power is so strong that it results in him defeating his opponents. He has heavy hands, and even his jabs have power behind them. Bivol obviously has to box and try to keep away from Beterbiev the whole fight. It won’t be easy.
“It was an amateur world championship where you can’t really use your power for everybody. There are a lot of technical guys out there. You’re limited by three rounds,” Gvozdyk said.
“Obviously, you prepare to avoid his punches. You don’t have to block near the ropes because that’s where it gets really dangerous,” Gvozdyk said of Beterbiev. “When he starts landing his punches on your (guard), you always feel them, and it’s not easy to fight this guy.”
Bivol won’t let Beterbiev get caught against the ropes, but that doesn’t mean he won’t be hit hard in the center of the ring. Beterbiev doesn’t need to trap his opponents for him to land hard shots. Many of his knockouts come in the center of the ring.
“He knows how to fight these types of guys,” Gvozdyk said of Beterbiev knowing how to deal with mobile fighters who use footwork. So, I think it will be a really tough task for Bivol.
“It’s difficult (to prevent Beterbiev from getting trapped against the ropes). When you fight this type of guy, you have your engine all the time, which really burns you. In addition to the technical and tactical part, you have to take care of your conditioning part very well to be able to fight Beterbiev,” said Gvozdyk.
It will be difficult for Bivol to move the whole fight to elude Beterbiev because he has to catch with short punches. Even when Bivol moves away to escape, he will be hit with blows. Unlike other power punchers, Beterbiev does not charge his punches. Throws short, high shots that do a lot of damage.
“Don’t drop the punch and work your (backside) hard,” said Gvozdyk on what advice he has for Bivol to defeat Beterbiev. “He runs away because it’s not a good idea to stand against the ropes against him,” Gvozdyk said.
Bivol will need to emphasize throwing punches and single punches to prevent Beterbiev from constantly hitting him with his punches. Movement is important to Bivol, but he won’t win the fight without him standing and fighting sometimes.
The judges are not going to bench round Bivol automatically based on three minutes of movement and zero punches scoring against Beterbiev. That works for some fighters when they are the A side, fighting in their hometowns, but Saturday’s contest in Riyadh is on neutral ground for both.
