Patience.

It’s not the first word that comes to mind when describing a fighter who – until his last fight – knocked out every opponent he faced.

For Artur Beterbiev, patience has defined his 175-pound championship reign. Every day of his seven-year title reign, he was certain that the time would come when he would have every piece of the right airy heavyweight equipment in his hands.

That moment came on October 12, when he defeated Dmitry Bivol to win the RING Championship and fully unify the 175-pound division.

“When I first won the IBF belt, this dream was always in me,” Beterbiev told The Ring. “I always believed this day would come.

“It happened a few days ago and I’m very content.”

This was evident on his content yet humble face when it was announced that he had won by majority decision at the Kingdom Arena in Riyad, Saudi Arabia. Beterbiev (21-0, 20 knockout) went the distance for the first time in his career. He had expected this day to come eventually, even though he had always avoided looking at his scorecards before.

In the match with Bivol (23-1, 12 KO), it was expected that Beterbiev would have to employ some novel tricks. Both were undefeated, widely considered two of the best airy heavyweights in the world and among the best in the sport on a pound-for-pound basis.

Beterbiev never expects to defeat his opponents, even though it happened many times during his long reign. He will always be the physically stronger fighter no matter who he faces at or near airy heavyweight. Bivol did have a size advantage and – on paper – was considered the better boxer.

It remains debatable whether that last part still holds true after twelve rounds of the championship. At least Beterbiev answered many questions about how he would react when his opponent didn’t go down.

“I was content that the fight went twelve rounds,” Beterbiev insisted. “Because I have to prove that I’m just not looking for a knockout. It’s always the same in every fight. If that happens, that’s fine.

If not, we have shown that we box well for twelve rounds and we can win that way too.”

Beterbiev had to box and fight all twelve rounds to earn the biggest victory of his storied but frustrating career.

Bivol was able to quickly take the lead. What’s more, he was ahead on all three scorecards after nine rounds.

Much has been written about the advice given from Beterbiev’s corner kick before the start of the eleventh round. Renowned head coach Marc Ramsay informed his protégé that he needed a knockout to win.

This sense of urgency is not uncommon in any world-class corner. Hall of Famer, multiple Coach of the Year Freddie Roach often calls on his players to “put him on his ass” before the final round. Most elite coaches know how to get the most out of their athlete in a arduous situation.

This is what happened in Beterbiev’s corner. The 39-year-old world-class fighter, a devastating Russian, responded in kind.

“I didn’t think I was losing, but I wasn’t thinking about the results,” Beterbiev admitted. “I was more focused on the fight. I’ve maxed out in the last few rounds. Honestly, you should always have enough energy to finish the fight in these two or three rounds. It is significant to have no energy left after the fight is over.

“You give your all in the last rounds. I did it when my corner told me to win. They always tell me I need a knockout. I knew that meant winning the rest of the fight and having no energy at the end. After 12, you no longer need this energy^vol round. You need this to win the fight.

Fittingly, the closest Beterbiev came to reaching that distance as a professional was his first competitive win.

Enrico Koelling was hopelessly outclassed in his IBF airy heavyweight title fight in November 2017 in Fresno, California. However, the German fighter saw the airy of day when the bell rang to start the 12th and final round.

Beterbiev knew that his opponent was only there to survive, not to win the title at stake. He capped it off with two knockdowns to force a stoppage with just 37 seconds left in the night.

The fight itself marked the end of a layoff of over ten months as Beterbiev recovered from shoulder surgery. The 2008 and 2012 Russian Olympian fought just his 12th professional fight in more than four years as a professional, seeking his first major title.

Injuries, illnesses and the global pandemic have further slowed down his momentum. Since winning the IBF belt, Beterbiev has fought only nine times.

The key was to make it count every time he stepped into the ring. He did so against then undefeated lineal/WBC champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk in their lineal/WBC/IBF unification fight in October 2019. After nine rounds, Beterbiev was losing two of three points before stopping Gvozdyk in the tenth.

It was his finest hour as a professional, but also his last for the next 17 months. The pandemic and a series of delays stalled his IBF-mandated title defense, which even resulted in a change of opponent. He eventually resumed his career in March 2021. Two fights later, Beterbiev added the WBO belt to his collection.

Three fights later, Beterbiev left boxing’s newest hotbed as the undisputed king of the airy heavyweight division.

“Unfortunately, injuries are part of this sport. Delays are part of this sport,” Beterbiev noted. “All these different things come our way for a reason.

“Finally, something very good has been created. I have always stayed in shape and patiently waited for this moment in my career to come.

Even that moment was postponed for four months as Beterbiev recovered from a knee injury and subsequent surgery. He and Bivol were scheduled to meet in June, even then in a fight that most believed wasn’t possible before 2024.

This lively changed with the emergence of Turki Alalshikh and the Riyadh Season group, which invested heavily in the sport. Moreover, the team has made aggressive efforts to ensure championship fights at the absolute highest level.

Without this current move, the airy heavyweight division has remained divided for 22 years and counting.

Thanks to this, Beterbiev was not only able to achieve success, but also found himself in a country where he could fully embrace the faith shortly after the victory that defined his career.

“Yes, it made the moment more special. “Islam is a substantial part of Saudi culture,” said Beterbiev, a devout Muslim. “But I am true to my faith no matter where I am in the world.

“Winning here made it a little different, but the goal was always to win the undisputed title wherever the fight was.”

Fittingly, the path to undisputed position came against an opponent who had been waiting for this moment as long as he had. Bivol was promoted to the full WBA airy heavyweight title list just a week before Beterbiev’s IBF title reign began.

“It was always meant to be like this, [Bivol] and I fight for everything,” Beterbiev insisted. “I never doubted this day would come. I am grateful to His Excellency (Alalshikh) and those who made this happen. Every step of my career has led to this. This was always my destiny.

“My belief that this day would come led me to what I could do in the ring to make my dream come true.”

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Jai Opetaia expects Tim Tszyu to learn from his fight with Sebastian Fundora and dethrone Bakhram Murtazaliev as the IBF junior middleweight champion.

The 29-year-old lost for the first time in March when, in a fight for the WBO and vacant WBC titles, Tszyu suffered a solemn injury to Fundora’s elbow that left him unable to see or compete in the second round.

He agreed to fight the lumbering Fundora belatedly following an injury suffered by his previous and significantly different opponent Keith Thurman. After the fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which he lost by decision, it was also suggested that Tszyu should not have been allowed to continue after seeing the corner cut.

Having sacrificed his title and undefeated record, he is looking to gain another at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida, where Murtazaliev makes his first defense of the vacant title he won in April by stopping Jack Culcay.

Regardless of the circumstances of the defeat to Fundora, a second defeat in a row would prove disastrous for the Australian’s career – Fundora is also close to rewarding victory with a lucrative fight against Errol Spence – but ultimately compatriot Tszyu supports him in victory.

It was a significant period for Australian boxing. On Saturday – under Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol’s card in Riyad, Saudi Arabia – Opetaia stopped Jack Massey to defend her IBF cruiserweight title, and Skye Nicolson overtook Raven Chapman to defend her WBC featherweight title.

With the announcement that Liam Paro will defend his IBF junior lightweight title on December 7 against Richardson Hitchins, it is possible that the oft-neglected fighting culture will celebrate the existence of four world champions by the end of 2024.

“He was a bit unlucky – unlucky with the cut and stuff like that,” Opetaia told BoxingScene. “But it’s all part of learning. I’m sure they’ve learned a lot and I’m looking forward to his return to form. I support him with all my strength.

“It’s good to see another Australian on the world stage. Few of us end up here; this is common with Poms [Britons] and Europeans and Americans, but for people from our forest it is a long way to get here. I support him with all my strength.

“It’s a great fight. I will support Tim.

“I just hope Tim wins. He’s fucking Australian – we support each other. Once he’s home, we want to decapitate each other. But when it’s our nation and he flies our flag and he’s one of us, we support him all the time. I hope he fucking beats everyone.

“It would be great if the Australian market worked as a whole team. You have all these Pom Poms; you have so many Pommies fighting on the same card and they create Matchrooms and such.

“It’s a little different for us because if we were to do an Australian fight night, something like what the UFC does – they put all the Australians on the same damn card – if we did something like that, I’d be honored to do it. part of it. I would even take a pay cut to be a part of it because it would just be a historic thing for Australia and that’s what it’s all about – being a part of things like this.

“We were in a fucking pub cheering for margaritas [when Paro defeated Subriel Matias]. We had a crazy day that day. It was amazing. Fuck, we celebrated for him.

Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn has made no secret of his desire to have a homecoming fight for Paro in Australia in the future and potentially have Nicolson, Opetaia and heavyweight Justis Huni on the card. In the event of a victory over 31-year-old Russian Murtazaliev, Tszyu is expected to retain the fierce sense of independence that has helped anger the influential Turki Alalshikh.

“The stakes are always high,” Opetaia continued. “Me; Tim; we’re at the peak of our careers. Every fight has high stakes. We don’t go into fights thinking, ‘Fuck, you know…’ It’s all risky business. One punch can change everything. We’re in it; at the risk our lives; sacrificing ourselves every day. It’s all high stakes.

“For someone watching the fight outside the ring, it may look different. “He can do it; can do it.” But when you get in that ring and punch it, anything can happen, so we have to take this shit seriously – and I’m sure he does. He always does it. Always delivers.

“[Tszyu’s independence is] Good. He had Australia behind him – for us the paths were completely different. He cooperates with Tim Tszyu with No Limits, with whom he had a contract [broadcasters] Fox, and Fox still controls everything in the Australian boxing world, so it’s easier to promote him, especially with the Tszyu name.

“I’m not trying to discredit him at all – obviously he does tough work and wins fights. He is a great fighter. I saw him as a newborn kid rising through the ranks; We played for Up-to-date South Wales teams as teenagers, so I saw his tough work. I know it’s a long process and he deserves some of that preparation and the opportunity to sell the fight in Australia – I’ve been on the scene for a few years and that name Tszyu spans two generations. It’s good for Australian boxing; gives other Australians gigantic fights; these are gigantic cards. Everything is positive.”

Promoter Eddie Hearn says he will make sure there is a rematch between his fighter Dmitry Bivol and his conqueror, undisputed airy heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev.

Some argue that immediate rematches harm the sport by forcing fans to watch an unnecessary second fight. One thing that was fun to watch was the Beterbiev vs. Bivol fight, full of dramatic knockdowns. That wasn’t the case here.

Buffalo = Shakur 2.0

Bivol rode his bike throughout the fight, running away from Beterbiev and fighting in a safety-first style that fans around the world disliked. If this fight took place in Las Vegas, the fans would boo it and Bivol would be the cause. He fights very similarly to Shakur Stevenson, an unpopular fighter living in the US fighter.

Bivol lost to Beterbiev last Saturday night and should have earned a rematch by going through David Benavidez rather than being handed a second fight on a silver platter as Hearn plans to appeal to sanctioning bodies.

Matchroom promoter Hearn is upset that Beterbiev defeated his fighter Bivol by a 12-round majority decision last Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyad. If Bivol won, a huge monetary rematch between him and Canelo Alvarez was a possibility.

Beterbiev thwarted these plans by mustering his strength to defeat Bivol, who had an extremely negative style throughout the fight, constantly moving, staying outside the ropes and making the fight almost impossible to watch for the fans who watched it.

Hearn announces that he will appeal to one of the ruling authorities, claiming that Bivol (23-1, 12 KO) deserved to win and should order a rematch. Another approach is to ask them to make Bivol mandatory for Beterbiev.

All this is not necessary if His Excellency Turki Alalshikh wants a Beterbiev-Bivol rematch and is willing to pay for the fight to be held in Riyad again. However, there is a growing number of fans who do not want a rematch because they believe that former WBA airy heavyweight champion Bivol will be uninteresting again.

More stimulating fighters are lining up to face Beterbiev, who will be stimulating to watch. We already know what we will get from Hearn’s player Bivol. There will be a lot of movement and it won’t be pleasant to watch.

“In my opinion, I think we’ll see a rematch, and it was such a great fight that we should push for a rematch,” Eddie Hearn said Boxing in the match roomtalking about the expected second fight between his defeated fighter Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.

“Sometimes you go to the governing bodies and say, ‘Listen, we think we should have won this fight. We think you should have ordered a rematch. There are two ways to do this. You can order a rematch or order Dmitry Bivol as a must-see. I think one of those things is going to happen,” Hearn said

Ideally, Bivol should fight the winner of David Benavidez vs. David Morrell to get a rematch with Beterbiev and not get a straight shot after a failed attempt.

If there is to be a rematch, Team Beterbiev should insist on a smaller ring to limit the amount of Bivol’s running, as it will be fun to watch him run around the enormous ring for 12 rounds, playing from a distance and trying to spoil his path to victory.