Eddie Hearn says Dmitry Bivol can defeat Artur Beterbiev by jumping to a 6-2 start and then use the move to win on Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Hearn sees IBF, WBC, and WBO lightweight champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) as a “time bomb” that can go away as the rounds go by.
Matchroom promoter Hearn wants his fighter, WBA champion Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs), to use quick combinations, angles and movement to prevent Beterbiev from exploding on him.
It sounds like a great plan in theory, but Bivol is a combination puncher, and he doesn’t have a big chin, so he can’t handle body shots. Bivol is good when he is the one shooting, but he does not react well when he is hit.
We saw Bivol hurt in the eighth round by a body shot by Lyndon Arthur last December in Riyadh. That shot took a lot of the fight out of Bivol, as he has played it safe ever since.
It was a similar situation when Joe Smith Jr. staggered Bivol late in the 11th round with a hard right hand in their fight on March 9, 2019, in Verona, New York. Bivol looked drunk as he stumbled into his corner at the end of the round.
Complete Beterbiev – Bivol Card for Saturday
– Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol
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– Fabio Wardley vs Frazer Clarke II
– Jai Opetaia vs Jack Massey
– Ben Whittaker vs Liam Cameron
– Skye Nicolson vs Raven Chapman
– Mohammed Alakel vs. Jesus Gonzalez
“When you say it’s a fight for fight fans, it really is. I hope the wider casual world understands the importance of this fight for boxing because it really is the best against the best,” said Eddie Hearn to BoxNationdiscussing the undisputed light heavyweight artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol.
“I think the only person who can beat Artur Beterbiev is Dmitry Bivol and maybe vice versa. It’s the undisputed lightweight championship on the line Saturday night. It’s almost like a time bomb when you fight Artur Beterbiev. The speed with which ticks depends on your speed and your movement to slow that clock down. That’s when.
Hearn’s vision of Bivol defeating Beterbiev would be more believable if Dmitry tested himself against some talented killers at 175, such as Joshua Buatsi, David Benavidez and David Morrell. But given that Bivol’s career-best wins came against Canelo Alvarez and Gilberto Ramirez, it’s unrealistic to assume he’ll be victorious against Beterbiev.
A more likely scenario is that Bivol gets knocked out and knocked out in the sixth round by Beterbiev because he is not physically made for this type of fight.
“So if you’re Dmitry Bivol, what you want to do is make the clock nice and slow,” Hearn continued. “Unfortunately, when you look at Callum Smith, by the fourth and fifth rounds, that clock was already there, and it was almost time to go.”
Smith tried to use the move against Beterbiev, but it didn’t work because he cut the ring on him to force him into exchanges. Callum looked like a trapped animal in the sixth, being caught by Beterbiev, and looked traumatised. We can see the same thing with Bivol, who does not possess the power of Smith.
“What Dmitry has to do is get to six, seven and eight unscathed and box well and 6-2 up (on the judges’ scorecards). He’ll be in a position to keep that pace that will keep him (Beterbiev) off.” , Hearn said.
Bivol jumping to a big 6-2 on Beterbiev would be a dream for Hearn because he could then coast through the last four rounds from 9 to 12 to win a 12-round unanimous decision. It would be an annoying fight for the fans, but Hearn’s fighter, Bivol, would get the win and move on to face Canelo Alvarez in a lucrative rematch.
“This is another one of those battles where you can’t just walk Bivol and put him back on the streets and unload. He (Bivol) has to shoot back with speed, he has to use the angles, and you have to be worried about what’s coming back too. You can win fights comfortably with good footwork,” Hearn said.
Beterbiev can walk Bivol, because even with him moving, he will be caught. Beterbiev’s ability to cut the ring on the moves is superb, and Bivol can’t elude him without getting caught. We saw Oleksandr Usyk attempt to escape Beterbiev’s pressure in the 2012 Olympics, and was repeatedly caught and injured in his controversial victory.
