WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol expects to have the hardest fight of his career against the stonewall, unified 175-lb champion Artur Beterbiev this summer in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs) says he watched Beterbiev’s seventh-round destruction of challenger Callum Smith on January 13th and admits that he was “good,” but he didn’t see “anything new” from him.
Dmitry will need to be more aggressive against Beterbiev than he was against Lyndon Arthur.
Respecting the Rock Wall
The unbeaten WBA 175-lb champion Bivol made it clear that Beterbiev is like a rock, saying, “He’s very strong, he’s like a stone,” said Dmitry to Matchroom Boxing. “His punches are very hard.”
Of course, Bivol has fought other big punchers before during his career, so he’s not in awe of Beterbiev’s power because this is common for the light heavyweight division.
They all punch hard, and the differences between the fighters in the power department aren’t big enough to base someone’s success on that alone. Bivol says Beterbiev has “good technique. Many people talk about his power, but they forget about his technique.
Smarts over Strength
Bivol wants to use his ring intelligence to defuse the brute power of Beterbiev because he knows he can’t win a fight by going head-to-head with this kind of fighter.
That’s not Bivol’s style of fighting. Beterbiev is too strong, and it would end badly for Bivol with him getting chewed up the way Callum Smith did.
“I like smart boxing. I believe I show this boxing, and I hope it should be better than power; I hope these skills win,” said Bivol.
It’s unlikely Bivol will add any additional punching power to his game before this summer to help him against Beterbiev because he’s as strong as he’ll ever be at 33.
Focusing on power during training camp could result in Bivol thinking he can stand in front of Beterbiev and trade, which would end badly for him. By far, Beterbiev is a better inside fighter and would take Bivol apart quickly and efficiently.
Bivol Saw Nothing New
“I wasn’t surprised. Beterbiev was as good as I expected him. I didn’t see anything new. He was power as he was before, and he did his job,” said Dmitry Bivol to Matchroom Boxing, reacting to IBF, WBC & WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev’s seventh-round knockout win over Callum Smith this month on January 13th.
