Artur Beterbiev believes Dmitry Bivol is full of hot air about his already signing for a fight against him for the undisputed light heavyweight championship next in Saudi Arabia.
Beterbiev appears to be fed up of Bivol with his talk of them fighting, and he sees him as talking but not showing true interest in facing him.
Bivol’s Hot Air Draws Beterbiev’s Ire
IBF/WBC/WBO 175-lb champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) says WBA champion Bivol has been talking about fighting him for the last five years but never does, and he doesn’t believe what he says. Beterbiev adds that Bivol “Is NOT a good guy.”
Bivol’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has been telling the media this week that he’s already signed the contract to meet Beterbiev next in Saudi Arabia, and they’re just waiting for him to sign.
To this, Beterbiev asks how Bivol could have signed a contract to fight him when he still had his title defense against Callum Smith that he needed to get out of the way before any discussion for an undisputed championship bout between them could occur.
Beterbiev destroyed the hapless Hearn fighter, Callum Smith (29-2, 21 KOs), by a seventh-round knockout last night at the Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Canada. Hearn had predicted repeatedly to the media that Smith would knock Beterbiev the “spark out” with a left hook, leaving him “face down” on the canvas.
Beterbiev’s Doubts
“He always talks like this. For the last five years, he has told everyone that he’s going to fight the next fight with me,” said Artur Beterbiev, reacting to being told at the post-fight press conference last night that WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol says he’s signed to fight him next in Saudi Arabia.
Some boxing fans believe that Bivol has intentionally been stringing out the Beterbiev fight as long as possible to age him out to where he’s become an ancient fossil and can’t win.
That’s something that fighters often do to improve their chances of success. Some believe Canelo Alvarez did this with Gennadiy Golovkin, waiting until he turned 37 before finally agreeing to fight him.
Contractual Confusion
“He says that he already signed with me the contract,” Beterbiev continued about Bivol. “How can he say he signed the contract with me when I have another fight? He’s a real boxer, you know? I don’t know nothing about fight date or nothing. He already signed. How did he?
“It’s always like this with boxers,” said Beterbiev when asked if it’s a long ways to go before there’s a signed fight and date. “No, I don’t know that,” said Artur on whether an offer has been made to him from the Saudis for the Bivol undisputed clash.
“I tell you. Nobody tells me dates, names. He [Bivol] tells only, but I don’t believe him. He’s not a good guy,” said Beterbiev.
