The way Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol became two of the best lightweight heavyweights is the same way they will try to become the true king of the 175-pound weight class when they share the ring on Saturday in Riyad, Saudi Arabia.

Beterbiev is a hefty hitter – that much is obvious given his record (20-0, 20 KOs) and the quality of the opponent he has many of these victories against. Ale jest czymś więcej niż tylko parą ciężkich dłoni.

“A lot of people think Arthur is like Mr. “You have to watch it. Artur is a boxing champion. It’s very, very, very technical. “

Bivol is an extremely talented boxer – that’s obvious enough considering how he disrupted someone as talented as Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and dominated other fighters. He also has more pop than his record (23-0, 12 KO) might indicate, and is sometimes willing to get carried away with eye-pleasing combinations.

„Dmitry jest naprawdę tak dobry” – powiedziała Kathy Duva, wieloletnia promotorka, która kieruje Main Events. Bivol nie jest związana umową z firmą, ale Duva osobiście pełni funkcję doradcy Bivol. “Dmitriry has all the marks in this fight. No fight is simple. Ale myślę, że wszyscy czekają wielką niespodziankę. Myślę, że ten facet jest stworzony do Dmitrij. “

Players and their teams not only show respect, but also compliment what the opposition is capable of. They are simply confident that they can achieve even more.

„Ma wspaniałe doświadczenie i jest dobrym bokserem. It’s a good challenge for me” Beterbiev told Manouk Akopyan Boxingscene.

in one interview and simultaneously with Scully in another:

“He has the skills. He’s not just a good hitter. Jest naprawdę dobrym i inteligentnym wojownikiem ” Bivol said. “He has experience and boxing IQ. There’s a reason he has three belts. He is in really good shape for his age. Muszę po prostu być sobą i doskonalić swoje umiejętności. You can’t prepare for impact. Musisz się przygotować, aby nie zostać uderzonym”.

This is easier said than done.

„Nie spieszy się i cię załamuje” – Scully powiedziała o Beterbievie. “Twelve rounds are incredibly long for a ring with Artur Beterbiv. I don’t care how good you look at the beginning. I don’t care how you look keen in the first two rounds, because the sixth round will always be completely different than the first with him.

Beterbiev won his first world title in 2018. Of the seven defenses he has made since then, his toughest fights have come against Oleksandr Gvozdyk in 2019, Marcus Browne in 2021 and Anthony Yard in 2023.

Gvozdyk, who was the WBC titleholder and lineal lightweight heavyweight champion at the time, was ahead on two of the judges’ three scorecards when Beterbiev went down and stopped him in the 10th round.

Browne also took an early lead, and Beterbiev was in even greater danger when a clash of heads in the fourth round caused a enormous gash on his forehead, sending blood streaming down his face and into his eyes. Jednak Beterbiev odzyskał kontrolę, objął prowadzenie i wyeliminował Browne’a w dziewiątym miejscu.

“Twelve rounds with him is like running a marathon and you’re not a marathon runner and you just keep trying and you’re like, ‘I’ve got to run another 28 miles,’” Scully said. “They hit [Beterbiev] and they say, “Oh, he’ll be tired.” A on po prostu staje się coraz silniejszy i silniejszy. I pod tym względem jest prawie nie do zatrzymania. You won’t tire this guy out. You can’t win a war of attrition against him.

Z drugiej strony Bivol może być lepszy i może sobie poradzić lepiej niż Gwozdyk, Browne i Yarde. He also showed a lot of durability and has a lot of experience, going 12 rounds and getting the victory, just like he did against the mighty Joe Smith Jr. in 2019.

“I think so [Beterbiev] zależy, jak większość dużych zawodników, od uderzenia” – powiedział Duva. “And I think if that’s what you have, as Lennox Lewis once told me about David Tua, ‘All he can do is punch.’ Uncomplicated, simple work.

“I won’t tell [the Beterbiev fight is] simple. If you look at the opponents they faced throughout their careers, I think Dmitry fought much, much tougher opponents much earlier in his career. Everyone is in love with Beterbiev because he comes there and stays still, he is a hefty hitter and he has a great image.

„Ale ostatecznie myślę, że te walki wygrywa lepszy bokser i facet, który potrafi przyjąć najlepszy cios. That’s why I’m betting on Dmitry in both cases,” Duva added. “A boxer can do a lot to counter a punch. Not only an ancient boxer can beat any ancient boxer. But if you’re a boxer as smart as Dmitry – because he’s very intellectual – he plays chess the whole time he’s in the ring.

Bivol, on the other hand, was rocked by Smith behind schedule in the 10th round of their fight, Smith’s right hand landing over Bivol’s left hook, causing damage just after the bell. Cios trafił w lewe ucho Bivola, który zachwiał się do tyłu, po czym podtrzymał się linami w drodze powrotnej do swojego narożnika. Z drugiej strony (znowu) Bivol trzymał się mocno na nogach, choć ostrożny, w 11. miejscu, a zakończył fenomenalnie w 12. miejscu.

In this fight, what each fighter brings to the ring will challenge his opponent to perform at an even higher level.

“Bivol is a very good boxer. He is very talented. He’s very patient,” Scully said. Artur will have to play at 100 percent. However, I think he is 100 percent effective compared to Bivol. I’m very content with this match.

Bivol told BoxingScene’s Lance Pugmire. “Not just speed. Not just movement. All. My jab. My right hand. My strength. Be aware of danger. Everything has to be at the highest level.”

Speaking of 100 percent, Duva questions whether Beterbiev is there, raising issues of his age (39, while Bivol is 33), injuries and inactivity.

“The guy is already 40 years ancient, badly injured and really not that lively,” she said.

Beterbiev fought one fight each in 2022 and 2023. He already fought in 2024, defeating Callum Smith by technical knockout in the seventh round in January. The fight with Bivol was originally scheduled for early June, but was postponed because Beterbiev underwent knee surgery to repair a torn meniscus. Beterbiev has also struggled with many other injuries over the years: There were shoulder injury in 2015, rib injury in 2020 AND leg surgery in 2022.

You wouldn’t expect any player or his team to say otherwise, but Scully insists Beterbiev is fine, that the knee wasn’t an issue in training camp and that Beterbiev is still performing at a high level even though he turns 40 in January.

Beterbiev i Bivol spędzili ostatnie kilka lat na ugruntowaniu swojego statusu dwóch najlepszych zawodników wagi półciężkiej na świecie. Now they have reached their defining moment. Będą musieli stawić czoła wyzwaniom, z jakimi ich przeciwnik wcześniej się nie mierzył. Będą musieli przezwyciężyć okoliczności, których sami być może nigdy nie doświadczyli.

„Przeważnie Bivol był w stanie toczyć tę walkę przez całą swoją karierę, prawda?” Scully said. „Ale prawdziwy test następuje wtedy, gdy dojdziesz do punktu, w którym nie możesz już walczyć. Something has changed. Wrzucono klucz francuski i teraz trzeba zająć się czymś innym. Whether he will be ready for it, I don’t know. Whether he will succeed, I don’t know for sure. Wiem, że Artur potrafi boksować i stwarzać problemy. I oczywiście wiem na pewno, że Artur potrafi siać zniszczenie. Myślę więc, że duża część walki będzie zależeć od tego, jak silna wola będzie Dmitry’ego wobec tego konkretnego gościa. I tak jak powiedziałem, cieszę się, że widzę u niego pewne rzeczy, które wróżą nam na korzyść.

Said Duva: “No matter how talented you are, when you get to that gut-checking moment, when you get into the fight that’s going to be the hardest of your career, you have to have something different about you than everyone else. And I see it in Dmitry. I saw this while working with Pernell Whitaker. Nauczyłem się tego pracując z Rayem Leonardem. There are guys who are just different. And Dmitry is one of those guys.”