By Jeff Aronow: Top Rank has won the purse bid to stage the title fight between IBF/WBC light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and WBC mandatory Marcus Browne.
Top Rank won the purse bid with a winning bid of $1,105,000 to stage the unbeaten Beterbiev’s defense against #1 WBC Browne (24-1, 16 KOs). The second-highest bid was $1,001,000 from TGB Promotions.
This is arguably a step-up quality for Beterbiev (16-0, 16 KOs) from his previously successful title defense against Adam Deines last March. The two-time Russian Olympian Beterbiev took his time in breaking down Deines before putting him away in the tenth round in Moscow, Russia.
Beterbiev had been out of the ring for a year and a half, going into the fight with Deines due to a combination of injuries and a COVID-19 illness.
For Beterbiev to beat Browne, he’ll need to perform a lot better than he did against Deines because this is a tough fight on paper. Apart from Browne’s eighth round injury-caused stoppage loss to Jean Pascal in August 2019, he’s looked good in his other 24 fights since turning professional in 2012.
Browne’s best wins have come against these fighters:
- Otis Griffin
- Denis Grachev
- Badou Jack
- Lenin Castillo
- Sean Monaghan
- Francy Ntetu
- Thomas Williams Jr
- Cornelius White
- Radivoje Kalajdzic
- Aaron Pryor Jr
- Gabriel Campillo
- George Blades
Browne has a better resume than Beterbiev as far as facing higher quality opposition, and he’s undoubtedly been busier as a pro than the Russian fighter.
Beterbiev has the punching power to give Browne something to think about, but his low work rate might hinder him. For Beterbiev to win this fight, he’s going to have to throw more punches because Browne has a good chin, and he’ll outwork him.
It would be an upset if Browne wins, but not a huge one. The way Beterbiev looked in his last fight against Deines, he’s not unbeatable. Beterbiev has got to fight a lot better than that for him to beat Browne because this is a guy that has excellent boxing skills, power, and Olympic experience from 2012.
Provided Browne doesn’t suffer any injuries during the fight; he could give Beterbiev a run for his money and possibly beat him.
Beterbiev needs to keep winning to stay in line to one day face Canelo Alvarez. The Mexican star is expected to move up to 175 if he successfully defeats IBF super middleweight champion Caleb Plant on November 6th. If Canelo does move up to light heavyweight, he’ll be targeting Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol, and Joe Smith Jr.
“Top Rank won the rights to the Artur Beterbiev-Marcus Browne light heavyweight title fight with a bid of $1,105,000 at today’s WBC auction. TGB Promotions, which promotes all of PBC’s fights, bid $1,001,000. Beterbiev is ESPN’s No. 1 boxer at 175 pounds; Browne is No. 9,” @MikeCoppinger.