By Jeff Aranow: It looks like unbeaten light heavyweight contender Artur Beterbiev (10-0, 10 KOs) will be taking part in the Rio Olympics this summer. Beterbiev, 31, Tweeted that he’ll be returning to the pros after the Olympics. Beterbiev won last Saturday night in his 10th pro fight in defeating Ezequiel “El Olimpico” Maderna (23-3, 15 KOs) by a 4th round knockout at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada.
Beterbiev had been out of the ring for a year since June of 2015 due to a shoulder problem. If Beterbiev is going to spend this summer taking part in the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, then it’s possible he might be out of action until later this year. The Olympics will take time. It’s unknown which country Beterbiev will compete for in the summer Olympics in Rio.
Does he compete for Canada or his home country of Russia? Beterbiev was brought up in Khasavyurt, Russia. However, Beterbiev now lives in Montreal, Canada. Will he fight for Canada in the Olympics? Much of the skills that Beterbiev has learned from boxing came from his training in Russia.
“The rumors that I’m not coming back to pros after Olympics are false. I have unfinished business here #allbelts. @yvonmichelGYM,” said Beterbiev on his Twitter.
Beterbiev has already twice competed in the Olympics for Russia in 2008 and 2012. In both cases, he was eliminated by clever boxers in Zhang Ziaoping (China) and Oleksandr Usyk (Ukraine). Beterbiev could wind up facing other high quality boxers that will prevent him from landing his heavy shots. Beterbiev would only have three rounds to work with in the Olympics for him to get to his likely much younger Olympics.
Beterbiev looked good in defeating Maderna. He knocked him down two times in the third and another two times in the 4th. It appeared that Maderna didn’t want to be there, especially after getting hit with a very hard right hand from Beterbiev in the 3rd round.
Beterbiev has a lot to learn as a pro still, and he missed an entire year of his career with his injury. Is this the right time for Beterbiev to go backwards with his career to take part in the Olympics for a third time? If Beterbiev doesn’t take part in the Olympics this year, it might be difficult for him if he waits four years to compete in the 2020 Olympics. He’ll be 35-years-old by then and competing with fighters roughly half his age.
Even now, Beterbiev could be over 10 years older than some of the young amateurs he competes with. The question is will beating a bunch of much younger amateurs for an Olympic gold medal mean as much now for Beterbiev? It would have been perceived as a big deal for Beterbiev to win an Olympic gold eight years ago when he was only 23, but for him to beat handful of very young amateurs with no pro experience at this point in his life, it might not be seen as sporting to some boxing fans.
Will it undermine Beterbiev’s confidence as a pro if he’s eliminated from the Olympics by an 18-year-old? Is it worth it for Beterbiev to win a gold medal at his age?