SAUDI SHOWDOWN
Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol is a Beauty and the Beast story between boxing poet and terrifying KO artist
A rivalry could be brewing between the two fighters
RUSSIAN fighting is a dirty phrase around the world right now but it’s providing one of the most beautiful boxing scenes possible this weekend.
Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev have been forced to leave their homes - for the USA and Canada respectively - as Vladimir Putin tries to fight the rest of decent civilization.
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And there are unlikely to be any white, blue and red flags raised or Russia national anthem played in Riyadh.
But hopefully politics can be put aside as we watch possibly the finest pugilism contest available on planet earth right now.
There are bigger-money bouts around, rematches and trilogies to dream about, there are definitely more outrageous showmen and trash talkers in the bleeding business.
But when you combine their amateur pedigrees and achievements, with their undefeated professional records and their blatant clash of styles - and add in a dash of personal spite dating back decades - you are left with poetry in punching.
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The undisputed light-heavyweight battle between Kyrgyzstan’s 33-year-old and 39-year-old Dagestani Beterbiev is boxing’s Beauty and the Beast in a setting as dramatic as Alladin’s desert.
It is a bout Walt Disney would struggle to dream up himself. But we are all lucky enough to tune in this Saturday.
AMATEUR CODE
Hairy Beterbiev started winning major medals for the Russian amateur side almost TWENTY years ago.
He was robbed in the 2008 Beijing Olympics when pitted against a Chinese light-heavyweight opponent who went on to win a controversial gold.
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And by the time London 2012 Games came around he had moved up to heavyweight and only lost to another eventual golden boy in Oleksandr Usyk.
In over 300 bouts he won multiple golds and silvers in the World and European Championships.
Dmitry Bivol beats Lyndon Arthur in convincing fashion on AJ vs Wallin Day of Reckoning undercard
And he only moved up to heavyweight, swapping 75kgs for 91kgs - toward the end of his amateur days - because it was too easy in the division below and Russia wanted winners in all divisions.
Dmitry Bivol’s amateur career finished with another staggering record of 268-15 but he never made it to the Olympics or the World Championships as there were even more talented and experienced fighters ahead of him, like Egor Mekhontsev who won gold at London 2012 at light-heavy.
Because of the six-year age gap, the pair rarely trained or travelled to tournaments together - Beterbiev was a seasoned senior while Bivol was a promising junior - but in 2012 they apparently did spar and Bivol remembers it well.
“When I moved into the national team in 2012, he was already there as the No1 and he was the leader at that time,” he said.
“He was a cruiserweight at that time and I was a super-middleweight.
“Before the Olympic Games we did a few rounds of work together but it wasn’t proper sparring, it was just good work to help guys going to the Olympic games.”
Beterbiev is a little more brutal about his protege-turned-prey.
“He was not a sparring partner for me,” he said. “He can say whatever he likes.
“I never needed him, from a lower category, to spar with me.
"In 2012 I was fighting at 91kg and he was 75kgs. It’s not even a little bit true.”
PRO RECORDS
Boxing has been hurt by fighters, promoters and broadcasters protecting undefeated records.
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But these two have thoroughly deserved their magnificent numbers.
Bivol is 23-0 and has the scalps of former world champions like Jean Pascal, Joe Smith Jr and Zurdo Ramirez on his record.
He has also dominated Brits Craig Richards and Lyndon Arthur on points.
But, most impressively and famously, he controlled Canelo Alvarez so comfortably - in the Mexican’s adopted Las Vegas home - that he got a unanimous decision win over him in 2022, something even the legendary Gennady Golovkin failed, unfairly, to do.
Beterbiev’s record is simply terrifying.
The bearded brute has a 100 per cent knockout record, having battered all of his 20 opponents inside the distance.
Tough Englishman Callum Johnson managed to drop Beterbiev early in their 2018 clash but he was then brutalised before the fourth-round finished.
In 2019 Beterbiev won his second light-heavy belt by bludgeoning dangerous Oleksandr Gvozdyk so severely he needed two days in hospital and retired for two years.
And his last two TKO wins came against brave Brits as Anthony Yarde and Callum Smith were stalked, slashed and saved by their wise trainers.
STYLES MAKE SUPER FIGHTS
Bivol is a beautiful boxer with the trademark European point-scoring style.
The clean-shaven beanpole bounces in and out of range and uses his long arms to tag his opponents, just when they think they are safe.
His trademark dig is a long lead left-hook he somehow lands as he leaps backwards out of danger.
The Canelo performance is the perfect example, his poise and precision was staggering to watch as he made boxing’s then pound-for-pound No1 look like a novice.
It’s not always exciting, Saudi fans booed his dominant but dull decision win over Arthur last year.
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Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol: When is it, UK start time, live stream
But it is masterful and an acquired taste, like French haute cuisine, abstract art or The Guardian.
The caveman in the opposite corner could not be more different.
Beterbiev did not last 10 years on the Russian amateur squad by being some dimbulb brawler, there are brains behind his brawn.
But he is essentially a human wrecking ball who smashes things to smithereens.
Yarde put on a decent performance and lasted eight competitive rounds but he knows why other opponents endure far less.
He explained: “Beterbiev takes away their souls – he beats them up for however many rounds they last.
“Ours was like a normal fight, because we were trading, he seemed human, until the end.”
THE BELTS
We must not let the four major sanctioning bodies block great fights with their own self interests, self-serving rankings, lucrative sanctioning fees and often baffling mandatory challengers.
But we have all four of the belts on the line here and it is the pinnacle of the sport.
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Bivol brings the WBA crown to the table, Beterbiev puts his WBC, IBF and WBO belts on the line.
The winner will undoubtedly be the finest 12st 7lbs fighter on the planet and - depending on the manner of the victory - able to compete with Oleksandr Usyk, Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue for the mythical honour of P4P king of all of the different divisions.
THE START OF A RIVALRY?
This fight was already overdue before Beterbiev suffered a knee injury that postponed their June 1 duel.
The rebuilt slugger will be 40 in January so the dream of a multi-fight story seems sadly unlikely.
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If there is a draw or a controversial decision, then we may see the fantasy fight a second time.
But if Beterbiev batters Bivol inside the distance - or the silky younger man outhinks and outskills the veteran - then there will be no call for a rematch.
The most likely scenario is the winner moves up to cruiserweight where 14st 4lbs monsters like Jai Opertai and Bournemouth’s WBO champ Chris Billam-Smith operate.
OUR PREDICTION
Much will depend on how Beterbiev’s body - especially the rebuilt knee - copes with chasing Bivol around the ring.
If the ruptured meniscus, the painful surgery and the rapid return - after just 10 months since his last fight - mount up against Beterbiev, then he could be in for a long night.
Bivol is younger, fresher, faster and taller but he does not possess the thudding power that Beterbiev wields to pummel people into defeat.
It feels crazy to back against the man who made a mockery of the odds to beat Canelo.
But Beterbiev feels like a fighting machine who only knows how to seek and destroy.
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The bookies can barely split them - and neither can we - but Bivol by stoppage seems impossible whereas a Beterbiev KO or decision are both perfectly sensible ideas.
So we pick Beterbiev - just.
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