Artur Beterbiev comes into this Saturday’s fight against Dmitry Bivol having never fought in a big stage mega-fight during his 11-year professional career. Bivol has a big advantage over Beterbiev, having beaten the Face of Boxing, Canelo Alvarez, in May 2022 in Las Vegas in front of a big crowd at the T-Mobile Arena.
(Credit: Leigh Dawney/Queensberry Promotion)
Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) the IBF, WBC and WBO light heavyweight champion has fought in two Olympics but never won a gold medal. However, he is used to the high pressure from the competition he faced in those games and the more than 300 amateur fights he had.
Beterbiev’s greatest fights
– Callum Smith
– Oleksandr Gvozdyk
– Anthony Yarde
– Joe Smith Jr.
– Marcus Browne
Bivol’s fight against Canelo was against a smaller fighter coming from the 168 lb division, and he wasn’t a natural heavyweight like Beterbiev. However, it still counts as Bivol outboxed the highly rated Canelo, who came into the contest with just one career loss against Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Beterbiev and WBA lightweight champion Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) meet on Saturday, October 12 for the undisputed championship at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Their fight will be shown live on ESPN+ and is scheduled to start at 6:00 pm ET.
“The difference here is for that Canelo fight, Bivol was the underdog. Everyone thought Canelo was going to go up there and get another belt like he did against Kovalev at 175 pounds,” said Bernardo Osuna to the State of Boxing. X. “This time, he (Canelo) fought a guy (Bivol) at his natural weight that he could box.
“So how much credit do you give Bivol for that win over Canelo in terms of how much it was a career-defining win and how much it brings in the ring Saturday night in Saudi Arabia?”
“I think it could be a big advantage for Bivol in this fight. It was a big win,” said Mike Coppinger. “Nobody gave Bivol a shot. I even picked Canelo. Canelo was like a 4-to-1 in that fight. Like you said, we thought Canelo was going to go up and get another belt. We knew Bivol he was really good, but he had not faced anyone of note.
“As for the scorecards. They were all 7-5 for Bivol. I think it was more of a 10-2, 9-3 fight. He was cutting Canelo and putting him on the ropes, and even when Canelo had Bivol on the ropes , it made him miss and pay. It was one of the most impressive performances in the last 10 to 15 years,” said Coppinger.
Canelo looked tired after the third round against Bivol, and he had nothing to keep out after gassing out. He did no harm in the first two rounds, but by the third, Canelo had nothing left and was being peppered with shots from the better conditioned Bivol. Beterbiev is unlikely to fade in this fight like Canelo did, and he had the size to match Bivol. Beterbiev’s power and short punch put him ahead of Bivol.
“We’re talking about a guy in Canelo Alvarez who had just lost to Floyd Mayweather. That’s his only other loss. So, we might see a rematch at some point, but it was a really hostile atmosphere. Everyone was rooting for Canelo. He was the Cinco de Mayo weekend, and Bivol really rose to the occasion.
Beterbiev’s lack of big-stage experience won’t affect him like another fighter who hasn’t had the benefit of a long amateur career, two Olympics and an undefeated record. He never tasted defeat and marched through his 20-fight career, defeating everyone he faced.
