Today, the light heavyweight undisputed championship fight between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev will be officially announced along with the 5v5 Matchroom – Queensberry undercard at a London press conference at 5:00 pm in the UK. The June 1st event will take place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The fight fans really want to see for this event is the battle between IBF/WBC/WBO light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) and WBA champ Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs.
Undercard Draws Mixed Reactions
Bivol and Beterbiev are the true talents on the card. The 5 v 5 Matchroom-Queensberry is mostly a mix of domestic and fringe contenders, many of whom don’t figure to win world titles.
5 v 5 fights are for UK fans to see local fighters—decent scrappers, in other words, but not headed for world title glory. The Brits love these fights, whereas non-Brits see them as empty, useless filler fights not worthy of being on the Bivol-Beterbiev undercard. They’d rather see quality fighters headed towards winning world titles one day.
There are some good former world champions like Callum Smith and Anthony Yarde expected to be on the card. They were both recently beaten, so that kind of tells you about the level of fighters on the 5 v 5 card.
Who Will Win? Fans Are Divided
Fans are torn about who they believe will be victorious in the Bivol-Beterbiev. The ones who are choosing Bivol, 33, feel that he’s too young for the 39-year-old Beterbiev. He’s certainly a lot younger and faster than Beterbiev, who will be turning 40 in January and isn’t as fast as he once was.
Beterbiev has reportedly been trying to get a fight against Bivol for over five years and has never had any luck in getting a match until now. Some fans believe Bivol intentionally waited until Beterbiev was older before finally agreeing to fight him to increase his chances of winning.
Bivol doesn’t like pressure in his fights and appears nervous, especially when he’s hit hard. He backs off, throws fewer punches, and is very selective about the ones he throws.
We saw that in Bivol’s last fight against Lyndon Arthur. He was aggressive early, but once he was hit hard, he turned rabbit and moved around the remainder of the light, looking nervous and being chased by the British fighter.