Artur Beterbiev showed no emotion when he said that Oleksandr Usyk has chosen Dmitry Bivol to defeat him this Saturday night. Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) smiled and said, “They can say anything.”
(Photo credit: Leigh Dawney/Queensberry Promotions)
Some believe that Usyk is still bitter on his fight against Beterbiev in the 2012 Olympics, as he was heavily injured by Artur and seemed to lose the contest. Beterbiev clearly won two of the three rounds and punched holes through Usyk with every shot.
The judges gave Usyk a 17-13 win in their quarter-final match, but many felt that Beterbiev had done more than enough to deserve the win. Like Anthony Joshua, Usyk went home with a controversial gold medal in the London Olympics.
Usyk had been the darling of the Olympics in the heavyweight class and was favored to win the gold. Beterbiev got the better of him, but ended up losing a questionable decision. Could Usyk still have a sense of bitterness here?
This was not the first time that Usyk fought Beterbiev, as they had competed in the 2011 World Championships. Beterbiev knocked Usyk down in the third round with a hard body shot, but Oleksandr won by a score of 17-13 . This was another fight that Beterbiev fought well enough to win, but the judges gave it to Usyk.
“Of course, it’s the biggest. It’s the undisputed fight for all the belts. I don’t know. I don’t think about it,” said Artur Beterbiev to Pro Boxing fansreacting to being told that Canelo Alvarez wants to fight Dmitry Bivol if he is victorious, but not him if he wins on Saturday.
“They can say anything. I don’t think about them about what they say and what they don’t know. I’m all focused on my fight,” said Beterbiev when he said that Oleksandr Usyk chooses Bivol to defeat.
Again, Usyk might still be salty about what Beterbiev did for him in their two fights, especially the 2012 Olympics. When Usyk looks at his gold medal on the shelf, he’ll see it as It’s stained because the fans see it as gifted.
“These home comforts in Quebec and Canada. This is a fight on the road. Bivol has the experience of two fights in the Kingdom before. It is not something that has been talked about,” said the promoter Eddie Hearn Queensberry Promotions about Beterbiev has not fought in Riyadh before.
“I’m not saying he’s going to throw it out, but he’s on the road, he’s on the road, and he’s on the road; he’s had knee surgery,” Hearn said of Beterbiev. “We’re going to hit a few more straws here tonight and pray. Bivol is the guy to beat.”
Beterbiev will not be removed from fighting outside of Canada because he has traveled a lot during his amateur career, and he will not be intimidated by being away from home. If Bivol is going to win, it won’t be because of Beterbiev being uncomfortable in an unfamiliar environment.
“I think the first rounds of this fight will be important because in the first two rounds, if he’s caught, if he’s tagged, back in his corner, then you think, ‘There’s a long way to go,'” he said Hearn, speaking of Bivol. “What you really want is to go six, seven or eight rounds and be 5-1 up or 6-2 after eight. Don’t hold back, but think, “We’ve got four turns here.”
Biviol promoter Eddie Hearn hopes he can jump to an insurmountable lead after eight rounds and then go on the defensive defense in the final four to get the win. Beterbiev cannot afford to let Bivol win the first half of the fight because he will milk the lead by running and holding in rounds nine through twelve.
