Boxing will crown its undisputed featherlight heavyweight champion on Saturday night when Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol collide in Riyad.

They are both at the top of the 175-pound weight class and have been for some time, but separating them is a tough proposition.

There will be countless predictions, analyzes and debates this week about a fascinating 50-50 fight where a robust case can be made for either fighter. But what does the boxing industry think? picked the brains of 14 people, from promoters to fighters to broadcasters.

Below is a low selection. To watch more, click on the video.

Ben Whittaker (featherlight heavyweight and 2020 Olympic silver medalist)

“You will probably see interviews [where] I changed and changed. I was very robust towards Beterbiev [and] Beterbiev will probably keep him. But now I’m back in Bivol and I’m thinking about Bivol. Bivol is adolescent, fresher, stays vigorous, can fight close, can fight long and his fitness is good, so I will lean more towards Buffalo“

Shane McGuigan (Head Coach)

“I’m just thinking Beterbiev is in better shape. Bivol looked really good when he boxed Canelo, but he was inactive for some time and didn’t look good in his last fight. Beterbiev looked a little flat and delicate just before boxing Callum Johnson, and then Johnson dropped him. He wasn’t looking well around this time. Now he has recovered. People may say that the Anthony Yard fight was a competitive fight, but that’s not true. He took his foot off the gas pedal, fought in bursts and was very withdrawn that night. And then Callum Smith… Callum is a very good player, so doing this to Callum Smith… is [Beterbiev] in great shape.

Jim Lampley (Lead Commentator and Expert)

“It’s just a great fight. These are two great technicians. They both have power. I think it’s logical to agree with Beterbiev and gain the advantage in striking power. This doesn’t necessarily mean he will win this fight. Bivol, who defeated Canelo Alvarez, extremely confident, commanding his craft, able to choose other options than those in front of him to continue to find success in the slow rounds. He can win this fight. This is 50-50 fight. I can’t wait to see it.”

Jai Opetaia (IBF world cruiserweight champion)

“It’s an amazing fight. Stylistically, a fighter moving forward against a guy who just cuts corners. It’s amazing. As a fan of boxing and the science of the sport… there is a lot of hype around heavyweight fighters because they hit so demanding, but this is chess match and as a science of the sport of boxing, it’s a great fight, a great matchup, and I’m truly honored to be a part of a great fight like this. Any true boxing fan who knows styles and statistics [knows] this fight is massive.”

Gervonta “Tank” Davis now has an official date and location for her second fight of the year.

The No. 8-ranked pound-for-pound fighter will defend his WBA lightweight title against Lamont Roach Jr., who is moving up in weight. Their 12-round fight will be the main attraction of the PBC gala, which will take place on December 14 in the Prime Video Pay-Per-View program at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

The incident was confirmed by PBC on Sunday evening.

Davis (30-0, 28 knockout) will make his second attempt to defend the full version of the WBA lightweight world title. The undefeated Baltimore native previously held the “Regular” version of the belt before being promoted last year following the departure of Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KO; 1 No-Contest) from the division.

Before securing this fight, Davis and his team were looking for a unification fight against reigning IBF lightweight champion Vasily Lomachenko. Such a fight was planned for November, but Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KO) refused and decided to wait out the rest of the year.

Ultimately, a path was created for Roach (25-1-1, 10 knockouts) to enter the equation. The WBA 130-pound world champion was previously summoned at the beginning of the summer for another fight against interim world champion Albert Batyrgaziev. However, a one-time exception was granted to challenge Davis at a higher weight instead.

After the victory, Roach will have to decide whether he will stay at lightweight or return to 130. A loss will force him to face Batyrgaziev (12-0, 8 KO) within 120 days of the Davis fight.

Both Davis and Roach earned eighth-round knockout victories within two weeks of each other against undefeated opponents.

Davis’ moment came against Frank Martin at the PBC Summit on June 15 at Prime PPV in Las Vegas. The fight was fierce until it wasn’t. Davis finally caught up to Martin and knocked him out for the fourth straight time.

On June 28 in Washington, Roach defeated undefeated Feargal McCrory (16-1, 8 KO) in his eighth fight. That night was the first home match in nearly seven years for Roach, the fourth-ranked junior lightweight on The Ring from Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Before that came his first championship title. Roach scored a dramatic knockout in the 12th round, thanks to which he overtook and eliminated the WBA 130-pound world champion, Hector Luis Garcia (16-2, 10 KO). Overall, Roach won six in a row. His lone loss came by decision in November 2019 to then-WBO junior lightweight champion Jamel Herring in Fresno, California.

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Shawn Porter believes Artur Beterbiev is too fight-weary to defeat a less-exhausted Dmitry Bivol this Saturday in their undisputed featherlight heavyweight championship on October 12 in Riyad.

Former welterweight champion Porter says the youth of 33-year-old Bivol (23-0, 12 KO) also counts in his favor against 39-year-old Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KO) in a 12-round fight. main event at Kingdom Arena.

WBA 175-pound champion Bivol had a habit of avoiding the most grueling fights possible, which is why he has fewer knockouts than Beterbiev. The downside to this safety-first approach to his career is that Bivol is less popular than IBF, WBC and WBO champion Beterbiev and isn’t talked about much.

“I can’t pick him right now, but if Bivol stands there and lands, then good night, Vienna,” coach Joe Gallagher said to Boxing newschoosing Dmitry Bivol instead of Artur Beterbiev.

“I choose Beterbiev, but only because I was in Vegas and talked to someone who sparred with him. He said, “Oh man, that guy. To spar four rounds with him is to fight 20 rounds. He’s like a monster,” said Regis Prograis. “He paired him and Bivol. He said: “Beterbiev is a killer, an absolute monster.” So I would lean towards Beterbiev.

Beterbiev’s power makes him a nightmare for anyone to spar with unless he can handle them easily. He is not the type of player who behaves lightly during sparring sessions, because then he gets nothing from them.

“I don’t see Beterbiev’s past, but Bivol’s quality is really good. Technically he’s really good,” said Paul Smith. “I think I saw Beterbiev up close a few times. I think I’m on Beterbiev’s side. I think he’ll get there eventually, but it’s by no means certain.”

“I think one thing in Bivol’s favor is that Beterbiev has had a few injuries and has just had a sedate injury that he’s coming back from. This could play a bit in Bivol’s favor,” said Otto Wallin.

“Bivol wins this fight. I think he has youth on his side,” Shawn Porter said. “The Beterbiev was a Mack truck running into smaller trucks and other gigantic trucks. These types of collisions will catch up with you at some point.

The only fights in which Beterbiev was booked were between Marcus Browne and Anthony Yard. He took a few shots in both fights, especially against heavy-handed Browne, but he still wore them down to get the knockout.

“Bivol’s course is simply different than Beterbiev’s. I think Bivol will win. We’ll see. Bivol can be touched, but is Beterbiev speedy enough?

The mileage Porter is talking about may not prevent Beterbiev from winning the fight because his power is just as deadly as it would be if he had less mileage, and he hasn’t shown any problems with his chin. If Bivol is going to take advantage of Beterbiev’s age and ring wear, he will have to fight him. Doing this will be risky.