Promoter Bob Arum wants Artur Beterbiev to bypass his recently appointed IBF mandate Michael Eifert to face Dmitry Bivol, Canelo Alvarez, or David Benavidez next.
Top Rank boss Arum doesn’t want undisputed lightweight champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) to face Eifert (13-1, 5 KOs), who is a complete stranger to fans of the United States and would attract zero interest.
Given Beterbiev’s age, long career and recent injuries, it would be pointless for him to use one of his precious last fights in his career defending against an obscure fighter like the 26-year-old Eifert, who most good career victory was recently against. Jean Pascal, 40 years old.
Arum jumps at the chance to get into the fight between Beterbiev and Canelo Alvarez if the Mexican star shows interest in moving up to 175 to challenge him for his four belts.
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh says he wants Beterbiev and Bivol to fight in a rematch after their fight on Saturday night in Riyadh. Eddie Hearn is promoting Bivol, and he could persuade Turki to go for a rematch rather than a much bigger fight involving Canelo or Benavidez facing Beterbiev.
The fans want Canelo for Beterbiev
Turki had Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) victorious, but the judges scored for the IBF, WBC and WBO champion Beterbiev based on him being the aggressor throughout the second half, hurting Bivol several times, and putting him on the run .
It would be great for the American fans if Canelo chooses to fight Beterbiev because it’s a much better matchup than a rematch with Bivol, who is a defensive guy who played at keeping his distance all night. Canelo would make it fun for the fans.
“Bob Arum told me that he intends to encourage Beterbiev to skip the mandatory IBF vs. Michael Eifert to fight Bivol, Benavidez, or even Canelo again,” said Keith Idec on X about promoter Bob Arum wanting undisputed heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev to face Canelo, Bivol or Benavidez.
As long as Beterbiev is willing to relinquish his IBF title if he has 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 fight on January 25th will be a good option.
Bivol would be the third choice because it is a less attractive fight, and we already know how he will be on the run for 12 rounds, trying to win by doing the least.
What we don’t need is Beterbiev beating Bivol a second time and Hearn complaining that he should have won, appealing to the sanctioning bodies to order a trilogy, and crying to Turki that a third match is necessary. At some point, Hearn and Bivol have to accept that they are not good enough and put themselves at the end of the line with the other fighters that Beterbiev has beaten.
Crawford The Last Resort?
“I think the fight will happen if the Beterbiev-Bivol rematch for the undisputed goes forward, I think it will leave Canelo off the island where he will probably want to have a big fight that he can compete and pull off like the other fights. Antonio Tarver told Fighthype on the possibility of Canelo Alvarez choosing to fight Terence Crawford if he doesn’t move up to 175 to challenge Artur Beterbiev for his undisputed lightweight championship.
Canelo would be more open to fighting Crawford if he showed he’s not just looking for a retirement day by moving up to 168 and proving himself against one of the killers in the division instead of asking for the match to be given to him. It’s hard for Canelo to take Crawford seriously, with him barely winning his 154 debut against Israil Madrimov on August 3, and then angling for a two-fight celebrity deal with former UFC champion Conor McGregor.
“So if he doesn’t fight Beterbiev and Beterbiev gives Bivol a rematch, I think it will be the perfect time to bring a Canelo-Crawford to the surface to see how it plays out just to see how the two legends get what they want to go down .
“I have to say because of the size and the power, and Bud moving, you’ve got to favor Canelo for that. But I’m always going to watch a guy like Crawford, if anybody can bother Canelo at that level growing up, he would be a guy with Crawford’s skill and Crawford’s toughness.”
Canelo has already said he’s not interested in fighting Crawford because it’s a no-win situation where he’ll be criticized regardless of how the match goes down. Crawford’s trainer, Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre, already let the cat out of the bag, telling how they plan to use the plan Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Dmitry Bivol against Canelo. This means there will be a lot of peaks and troughs around the ring. Canelo doesn’t want to fight a runner at his age, and you can’t blame him.
“This last fight against Madrimov he showed a lot. He showed a lot because of his boxing,” Tarver said of Crawford who looked good and bad during his 154 debut against WBA champion Israil Madrimov on 3 August. “A lot of times, you don’t have to punch to control someone in the ring.
“So, Bud was there controlling, and he knew that he could not stay there in the exchange. So, box and against him, in and out all night. It made Madrimov a little desperate at the end, although Madrimov It’s been a tough fight, but we know it’s been cracked a few times. It can take a punch 154-pounder?
Crawford passed the test in terms of beating arguably the fourth or fifth best fighter at 154, but he hasn’t shown the kind of ability that will allow him to defeat the top run guys. In other words, Crawford reached his ceiling with his fight against Madrimov, and if he were to face the best fighters in the junior middleweight division, he would lose. Moving up to 168 to fight Canelo would just be money. Crawford would be too small, weak and old to defeat the Mexican star.
Questions about Crawford’s preparation for the fight at 168
“We know Madrimov is not Canelo or any of those other guys. He’s strong as an ox. So, Crawford showed he has a chin, but I don’t think he liked being touched by those 154-pounders . It’s nothing nice. It’s different with that punch,” Tarver said.
It looked like Crawford wasn’t enjoying eating those right hands from Madrimov. There was a sequence where Crawford was hit five times in a row with a right hand by Madrimov, and each shot knocked his head back. If Madrimov had attacked more aggressively in the championship rounds, he could have eliminated Crawford. It was Madrimov’s mistake in choosing to box rather than go for the finish.
“Oh yeah, a complete fighter. Bud’s proven that, a puncher and counter-puncher. He can do it all,” Tarver said when asked if Crawford proved he’s a complete fighter 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 become a complete fighter.”
Crawford didn’t prove he’s a puncher at 154 in his fight against Madrimov. His power did not seem formidable at all in that fight, and it seemed obvious that he was not the same fighter that he was in this weight class that he had been at 147, 140 or 135. That could explain why. Crawford doesn’t show much interest in fighting other champions at 154 since the Madrimov fight, which he just won.
“That’s where the gap is. They want to go up without the experience factor, and if you don’t have the experience, then you have to get the experience from somewhere, from someone who has it,” Tarver said.
