Dmitry Bivol will face the greatest boxer of his career in the delicate heavyweight division[ited championship fight against unified champ Artur Beterbiev in 19 days on October 12th in Riyadh. Beterbiev might have too much power for Bivol, who likes to throw combinations and leaves himself open. Getting countered by Beterbiev will be bad for Bivol.

WBA champion Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) is known for his movement and boxing skills, which he’s used to defeat the likes of Canelo Alvarez and Gilberto Ramirez. He’s not faced anyone like IBF, WBC and WBO champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs), though.

Bivol hasn’t fought anyone like Beterbiev, and we don’t know if he’ll be able to use his in-and-out attacking style effectively against this kind of puncher.

Canelo, a natural middleweight in size, was too small to fight at light heavyweight against Bivol in 2022. Zurdo Ramirez was slow and limited in his fight against Bivol in November 2022. Bivol might not be as good as some fans had thought, and Beterbiev may expose that.

“When I think of what is a machine? It’s Beterbiev more than any other boxer in recent years,” said Ade Oladipo on his YouTube channel, talking about unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev ahead of his fight against Dmitry Bivol on October 12th.

“Some thought Callum Smith was going to go to Canada and take the titles from him. Beterbiev destroyed him. That’s when I thought this guy is the real deal. Then there’s Dmitry Bivol. I think he’s poetry in motion.

“You have someone [Beterbiev] it will break you, and you have someone who is poetry in motion. Bivol does not have such a distinguished CV as Beterbiev,” Ade said.

Beterbiev’s greatest victories:

– Oleksandr Gvozdyk
-Callum Smith
-Callum Johnson
-Marcus Browne
-Anthony Yarde
–Joe Smith Jr.

Bivol’s best wins include defeats over Joe Smith Jr., Canelo, and Gilberto Ramirez. His resume is similar to Beterbiev’s, but not quite as good.

“Bivol shut Canelo down. You can’t sleep after a performance like that. That was Canelo in the run-up to the fight, on the run.”

“I didn’t think it was anything out of the ordinary at the time, but of course it was. In retrospect, it was like he hit me in the arms and knocked me down,” Callum Johnson told Secondsout of his 2018 fight with Artur Beterbiev.

“Will his age affect him? At some point, yes. Will knee surgery affect him?” Johnson asked of Beterbiev.

Beterbiev’s recent knee surgery raises questions about whether he’ll be able to handle the stress of facing a fighter like Bivol. Not just the movement. Bivol could decide to lean on Beterbiev in the clinches to wear down the knee and weaken it.

Will Bivol reign supreme on October 12? 👑#BetterBivol | #RiyadhSeason | October 12, live on DAZN | @turk_alalshikh photo: twitter.com/Q7tQgrDX4o

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) September 23, 2024

MANILA, Philippines – Jerwin Ancajas’ homecoming ended with a somewhat disappointing victory as he secured a disqualification victory over Thailand’s Sukpraserd Ponpitak in a 10-round featherweight bout scheduled for Sunday at Mandaluyong City College Gym. The fight, part of the “Blow-By-Blow” boxing series, was marred by repeated fouls from the Thai veteran, ultimately leading to an abrupt stoppage in the fifth round.

Ancajas, a former IBF junior bantamweight champion, wasted no time in proving his point. The Filipino left-hander floored Ponpitak early in the first round with a powerful right hook, halting the Thai and setting the pace for the rest of the fight. While Ponpitak was recovering from the knockdown, Ancajas continued to find his rhythm, landing a series of tidy combinations to take control of the fight.

However, what started as a dominant performance by Ancajas soon turned ugly. Ponpitak, at 36 and clearly outclassed, resorted to brutal tactics. In the third round, the Taj was warned for excessive holding and sweeping Ancajas to the canvas, which cost him a point. Despite the warnings, Ponpitak persisted in using illegal moves, repeatedly clinching and forcing Ancajas to the ground.

In the fifth round, after Ponpitak once again backed Ancajas into the corner, the referee decided he had had enough and disqualified the Thai for repeated fouls, awarding the win to Ancajas via disqualification.

It was a bittersweet triumph for Ancajas, who was fighting in front of a home crowd for the first time since losing to Takuma Inoue (20-1, 5 KOs) for the WBA bantamweight title in February. The disqualification victory improves his record to 35-4-2 (23 KOs), but the nature of the victory left many in the field wishing for a more decisive finish. Ponpitak, whose brutal tactics marred what could have been a more even fight, drops to 30-20 (20 KOs).

Despite the less than ideal finish, Ancajas still showed the sharpness and power that made him a champion. His precise combinations and ring command were on full display, even if the premature end to the fight robbed him of a potential knockout.

With this win, Ancajas can now focus on returning to world title contention. Whether he stays at featherweight or decides to drop down to junior bantamweight, “Pretty Boy” still has plenty of fight left in him. While Ancajas continues to rebuild after his recent setbacks, he remains a hazardous presence in any division he chooses to campaign in.

Eddie Hearn wants Anthony Joshua to face Tyson Fury regardless of the outcome of Fury’s rematch with Oleksandr Usyk on December 21.

(Source: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)

Hearn says that if Fury (34-1-1, 24 KOs) is defeated by WBA, WBC and WBO heavyweight champion Usyk, a fight between him and Joshua would be “huge,” with Fury potentially facing Joshua in a voluntary defense of his three titles if he is victorious.

It is logical that Hearn allowed a fight between Joshua (28-4, 23 KOs) and Fury because there is large money on the table from Saudi Arabia.

With all the money Joshua could get for the Fury fight, it would be crazy to ignore it. Joshua is wealthy, with his net worth currently estimated at 200 million poundsbut adding another $100 million would make it worth it. The most Joshua would have to worry about in the Fury fight is getting hit on the canvas.

AJ would have a better chance of beating the 36-year-old Fury than he would in a rematch with IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois. It would be foolish for Joshua to risk fighting Dubois after what happened last Saturday night. Dubois stopped Joshua in the fifth round at Wembley Stadium and it was strenuous to watch.

“My advice would be to do nothing until December 21st – Oleksandr Usyk v Tyson Fury rematch,” Eddie Hearn told Sky Sports Boxing of his plans for Anthony Joshua’s next fight. “If Fury loses, it could lead to a large fight with Joshua, if Fury wins, he could do a voluntary defence against Joshua. It’s still the biggest fight in the division, by a mile.”

The Fury-Joshua fight could look uncertain if Usyk knocks Fury out on December 21. It would look bad if Fury and Joshua both lost by knockout when they meet in 2025. The British boxing public will not tolerate a fight between two heroes if both lose by knockout.

Fury, 6’8″, has the size to take Usyk the full 12-round distance in a losing effort, especially if the referee can assist him by giving him breaks when he’s injured. Fury was recently saved in the ninth round by the referee, who gave him an eight-pointer when he was on his feet after taking 20 consecutive unanswered punches to the head from Usyk.