Artur Beterbiev is taking shots at unnamed rivals while approaching 600 days without a fight, appearing in a gym video shared by The Ring with a message about others running while he works.
“While the bunnies are running, we’re working,” Beterbiev wrote.
He doesn’t name Dmitry Bivol, although the timing invites that interpretation. Bivol’s manager, Vadim Kornilov, has told The Ring that a trilogy is being explored for spring 2027. That remains a possibility rather than an announced fight.
Beterbiev has been out since losing their February 22, 2025 rematch. As of October 6, that is 591 days without a competitive round. A third meeting next spring could stretch the layoff beyond two years unless he fights someone else first.
The lucrative trilogy is understandable as a target. They have one victory apiece, and Beterbiev wants another chance after losing the rematch. But allowing that fight to dictate his schedule comes at a cost, particularly for a fighter who turns 42 in January.
Beterbiev should have pursued another fight while the Bivol talks continued. An opponent below championship level could still have given him rounds, a full training camp and a chance to work through whatever needed correcting after his defeat. Waiting has given him none of that.
The gym footage shows him putting in work, but lifting weights cannot tell him how he will react when an opponent makes him miss, catches him coming forward or forces him to work late in a fight. Those are questions he could have started answering against someone other than Bivol.
There is a financial reason to protect the trilogy payday. Taking another fight brings the possibility of defeat or injury. Yet staying out brings its own danger: Beterbiev could finally secure the opponent he wants after spending two years getting older without fighting.
The “bunnies” can take the insult. Beterbiev still needs to get back into a ring. If he keeps waiting for Bivol, he has to own what that wait costs him.