Eddie Hearn is predicting a victory for WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol for his much talked about undisputed championship against IBF/WBC/WBO champ Artur Beterbiev.
Matchroom Boxing posted a message on X today about Bivol: “Already signed up to face Artur Beterbiev for all the 175 marbles.”
Hearn hasn’t learned his lesson, it seems, after picking Callum Smith to face-plant Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) last Saturday and then watching his fighter get quickly dismantled and TKO’d in seven rounds by the monster puncher in Quebec City, Canada.
The new prediction by Hearn comes down to his belief that Bivol’s movement will be too much for Beterbiev, who needs his opponents to be more or less stationary for him to land his power shots.
At the same time, Hearn acknowledges that Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs), who is not a big puncher, will need to produce some power to keep Beterbiev off of him because even if he’s moving nonstop, he’ll eventually get trapped against the ropes.
Hearn Predicts Victory for Bivol
“I do believe Dmitry Bivol beats him. Bivol’s movement is outstanding. I think Beterbiev will really struggle with that, but you have to have the power to hurt him. If you don’t, your movement has to be so good and so precise to withstand twelve rounds of punishment,” said Eddie Hearn to Boxing Social, picking Dmitry Bivol to defeat Artur Beterbiev when they meet for the undisputed light heavyweight championship this summer.
Bivol can’t run for twelve rounds without getting chopped down by Beterbiev because he’s caught him to the body and hurt him the way Lyndon Arthur did last December. Bivol was in trouble after taking a hard shot to the breadbasket from Lyndon, who isn’t considered a puncher, but still had him hurt.
Already signed up to face Artur Beterbiev for all the 175 marbles ✍️ @bivol_d pic.twitter.com/7N6iuhg9o1
— Matchroom Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) January 14, 2024
“Even if you don’t get hit clean, it hurts. You saw Beterbiev’s power,” said Hearn. “It’s freakish. Even the little touches get you off balance. I think Callum spent a little too much time on the ropes. Bivol won’t be there. His feet are very good. It’s a brilliant fight, one of the best in boxing. Hopefully, we can get it over the line,” said Hearn.
Beterbiev still needs to do his side of the deal with His Excellency for the undisputed championship fight to proceed in the summer.
