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The undefeated IBF/WBC/WBO light heavyweight champion hopes for a chance to become the fully unified champion of his division in his next fight if Artur Beterbiev defeats Anthony Yard on Saturday night. is.
The Russian-born knockout artist isn’t convinced Dmitry Bivol feels the same way. The 38-year-old Beterbiev accused Biborg of constantly talking about fighting him, but never showed any willingness to make their high-stakes showdown a reality.
“Bivol just says he wants to fight me,” Beterbiev told BoxingScene.com. “He never goes. Like Joe Smith and Gvozik, they said they wanted to fight and they came to fight. But Bivol just says he wants to fight, he wants to fight, that’s all. , saying the same thing for 10 years can’t help but fight.”
Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KO) added the WBC championship to his IBF belt by stopping Ukraine’s Oleksandr Gvozdyk (17-1, 14 KO) in the 10th round of the title unification fight in October 2019 . After three bouts, Quebec-based Beterbiev defeated Long Island’s Joe Smith Jr. (28-4, 22 KOs) to win his final at the Hulu Theater in Madison Square Garden in New York last June 18. A technical knockout in the second round earned him the WBO belt.
Defeating Bivol will likely be a much tougher task for the disruptive Beterbiev, but the complexity of the business has partially prevented boxing fans from identifying boxing’s best light heavyweights. Beterbiev is co-promoted by Bob Arum’s Top Rank Inc. and the group Yvon Michel, with ESPN airing or streaming his matches, while Bivol, 32, is Eddie Hahn’s Matchroom. It has partnerships with Boxing and DAZN.
Arum has informed BoxingScene.com and other outlets that Beterbiev vs. Bivol can only be made if ESPN broadcasts their fight.
Another potential problem is that Russia’s Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) wants a rematch with Mexican superstar Canelo Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) later this year. Bivol upset the four-division champion by unanimous decision in his 12-round, 175-pound championship match held at his T-Mobile arena in Las Vegas on May 7. I was.
Hearn hopes Bivol will defend his WBA title in his next fight against England’s Joshua Bouassi (16-0, 13 KOs), another candidate he will promote. If the Bivor vs. Buatsi match is wrapped up, then in the best case scenario, the wait for Beterbiev vs. Bivor will drag on.
“The last few years he’s been saying he wants to fight, he wants to fight,” Beterbiev said. “But in this period he also won two belts from other world champions. They came to fight and he doesn’t know. I don’t know what he’s thinking.”
Beterbiev’s goal is to become the undisputed 175-pound boxing champion, but he’s not into Bivol’s boxing.
“It’s really important to me,” Beterbiev said. “But if it doesn’t happen, I’m not crying.”
Regardless, the hugely popular Beterbiev must win his WBO title mandatory challenger England’s yards (23-2, 22 KOs) at London’s OVO Arena Wembley. Most handicappers have established Beterbiev as a strong contender with at least his nine wins and one loss against the Yards, the main his event of the 12th round.
Keith Idec is a Senior Writer and Columnist at BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on his Twitter @Idecboxing.
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