“Beterbiev is a difficult fight” for Bivol says Abel Sanchez

By Boxing News - 11/07/2022 - Comments

By Dan Ambrose: Trainer Abel Sanchez predicts that IBF/WBC/WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev will be a “difficult fight” for WBA champ Dmitry Bivol when the two eventually meet up.

Sanchez says Beterbiev (18-0, 18 KOs) has the punching power and the ability to take everything Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) dishes out, making it a tough fight for him.

Bivol will need to be even more defensive against Beterbiev than he was in his fight against Gilberto Ramirez because he hits harder and has an excellent inside game.

Beterbiev is one of two serious options that Bivol has for his next fight in 2023. Bivol prefers fighting Beterbiev over a rematch with Canelo Alvarez because he’s focusing on his legacy and wants the opportunity to compete for the undisputed championship at 175.

Beterbiev might not be available for a fight against Bivol, however, until September 2023, and it’s not worth it for him to sit inactive waiting for that fight to come off.

Last weekend, Bivol schooled his mandatory challenger Gilberto ‘Zurdo ‘ Ramirez (44-1, 30 KOs), beating him by a 12 round unanimous decision in Abu Dhabi.

Despite having an edge in size and power, the 6’4″ Ramirez fought like he was afraid to fight aggressively because of the counter shots that Bivol was catching him with when he would go on the attack.

“I predicted wrongly that Zurdo would be a little too big for him, but Bivol proved once again that he’s one of the elite, if not the elite fighter, in those weight divisions,” said Abel Sanchez to Fight Hub TV, reacting to WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol’s win over Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez last Saturday night.

“Beterbiev is a difficult fight [for Bivol] because he’s a big puncher, and he’ll be able to take everything. Listen, Zurdo was a little too slow and not smart enough for him.

“Beterbiev doesn’t have the credentials that Bivol does. Bivol, I’ve always said, was a Gennadiy Golovkin, only 15 pounds heavier and a little younger.

“That’s a difficult fight. I’d hate to go against him [Bivol] again because he seems to have some of that talent that is built into some of those European exceptional fighters.

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“He’s not going to overpower him. He’s just not going to allow Beterbiev to do his thing. Bivol is so skilled that he doesn’t allow guys to get into their rhythm, not allow guys to do what they want to do, and he’s big enough to where Beterbiev won’t be the bigger man than he is.

“I thought that was going to be the case for Zurdo being bigger and longer, but Bivol seems to have the tools to beat guys like that. I’ve seen him spar. He’s sparred with some of my guys.

“To be honest, he didn’t show me that much in sparring, but then again, that’s sparring. In the fights, he seems to do really well. The only reason I thought Zurdo was going to have a better time or an easier time was because of his length and because of his size.

“I don’t think people give Canelo enough credit for really the talent that he is,” said Sanchez.