Artur Beterbiev is 39 years old, which is prime years for most fighters. He was not very enthusiastic. One fight in 2022 and another in 2023, and before his second fight in 2024 Beterbiev had knee surgery to repair a ruptured meniscus.
But the light heavyweight champion shows no signs of age, wear or tear, according to his assistant trainer John Scully.
It’s understandable if you use more than just a grain of salt. None of the members of the fighter’s camp would be aware that their fighters were declining. Especially ahead of Beterbiev’s fight on October 12 with fellow title holder Dmitry Bivol to be crowned undisputed champion at 175 pounds, even Scully argued against the IBF, WBC and WBO titleholder. Still performing at a high level
“When I look at him I never thought about his age,” Scully told me in a recent interview, which will air in full on an upcoming episode of ”United Boxing,” a podcast I co-host.– “And I find it amusing because I grew up in an era where you were 32 years old and considered to be at the top of the mountain.”
Scully, who fought professionally from 1988 to 2001, was 33 when he last fought.
“With Arthur. His mentality is very strong both in the ring and outside of it. I don’t want to say he can go on forever. But I don’t think about his age,” Scully said. “People say, ‘Oh, what’s he going to do? Will he retire after this fight? And I was like ‘I don’t think so.’ I don’t see any reason for him to retire.
“He still came in strong all 12 rounds, if you think about it. Watch his fight and tell me I’m wrong. How many men do you know in the second half of their 30s who have gotten better and better? When you look at Arthur’s last fight, he did well, he became an all-around world champion, right? After the fight with Callum Smith (in January Eight days before Beterbiev turned 39) I told Arthur: ‘That’s the best thing you’ve ever seen’ How many people at 38 can say that?
“How many people can say that was their best work? When facing high-level competitors? How many people perform at their best (at) age 38 or 39? No one. No one. You know, maybe (Bernard) Hopkins. He was (36) when he fought (Felix) Trinidad. And then he had a couple of good fights during the Mid 40’s, so it’s a different day. Fighters live longer. The players are bigger. They are longer lasting. It’s a different world now.”
There’s also Better Beef. Minor injuries in recent years– That is. Shoulder injury in 2015– Rib injuries in 2020 and Leg surgery procedures in 2022– He also I became infected after dental surgery last year.–
A recent procedure to correct his meniscus caused the original Bivol date to be postponed. The competition was previously scheduled for June.
Beterbiev went to rehab in Russia, according to Scully.
“He was riding his bicycle up the mountain. He’s rehabilitating himself,” Scully said. “In the weeks I’ve been here in training camp. His knee isn’t the problem, to be honest, I forgot about it until you just mentioned it.”
David Greisman, who has been covering boxing since 2004, is on Twitter. @FightingWords2 and @United BoxingPod– He is a co-host of United Podcast– David’s bookFighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing” Available on Amazon
