Former unified lightweight champion Nate Campbell says Dmitry Bivol will only last as long as he can endure the punishment he will inflict on October 12 in Riyad.

Campbell chooses IBF, WBC and WBO delicate heavyweight champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KO), who will win by knockout against WBA champion Bivol (23-0, 12 KO) due to his strength. Nate will pick Beterbiev until someone proves him wrong, and he doesn’t believe Bivol is a mighty enough puncher to do it.

Bookmakers still consider Bivol the favorite, even though more and more fans support Beterbiev’s victory. It’s uncomplicated to see why bettors are choosing Bivol because he’s 33, younger, isn’t dealing with a knee injury like Beterbiev, and has an impressive win over Canelo Alvarez.

“Beterbiev [will win]. One of my fans tried to get him on the podcast, but he hit the jackpot at the gym. My boyfriend said, “Damn, who keeps slamming the door to your gym?” He said, “That’s not a door.” This is Arthur hitting the head,” Nate Campbell said YSM sports mediatalking about why he chooses Artur Beterbiev to defeat Dmitry Bivol on October 12.

“Until you prove me otherwise, Beterbiev. Can you punch? You can neutralize the punch by being a bigger punch. Tell me which guy packs a bigger punch [than Beterbiev]. Bivol can box; I know he can box. But can he hit? I could box and punch.

Bivol has decent punching power, but it’s not extraordinary. He can knock out fighters, but he has to fire many shots during the fight. By doing this, he puts himself at risk of being hit. Fighting Beterbiev this way would be too threatening for him to get away with.

“It changes the vigorous of the game when you can box and punch. What is the most threatening style in boxing? [boxer-puncher]. It will be over when he can’t take it anymore,” Campbell said of a fight that will only last as long as Bivol can withstand the punishment from Beterbiev.

Bivol will likely make things ugly by staying on the move, jabbing and holding down Beterbiev as he gets close. He knows he can’t afford to fight from the inside without getting knocked out. This will be a hit-and-run fight with Bivol.

Luis Alberto Lopez’s career is in jeopardy after suffering a brutal 10th round knockout at the hands of Angelo Leo in August.

The knockout, delivered by a master left hook that sent Lopez’s IBF featherweight title to Leo, took place at Tingley Coliseum and left Lopez with a brain bleed, raising grave doubts about his future in the ring.

What is by far the greatest night of Leo’s career may turn out to be Lopez’s last moment in the ring.

Lopez’s co-manager, Hector Fernandez de Cordova, did not hold back in criticizing the handling of the fight, particularly pointing out referee Ernie Sharif.

“He was one of the worst referees I have ever seen in boxing,” Fernandez said. “A guy like that doesn’t deserve to fight at the level of a world champion – or even against amateurs. He’s a butcher. As a referee, you have to protect the players from each other and from themselves.”

The situation escalated further after the fight, with Lopez’s team claiming to have encountered resistance from the Fresh Mexico Athletic Commission to provide Lopez with continued medical care.

“The commission tried to convince me not to take him to the hospital,” Fernandez said. “They said, ‘You don’t have to.’ But I thought, “If you don’t want to pay for it, that’s fine.” I’ll pay for it. But we are talking about my player’s health. He didn’t even know the fight was over.

Lopez was ultimately transported to the hospital, where he spent the night for observation. “The neurologist told us the bleeding had stopped, but we would need another MRI in six months,” Fernandez said. “If Lopez still wants to continue fighting, I will decline any offer until we get an MRI. For me, it’s not about money or legacy; it’s about the life of a warrior. They are like my children, my siblings. I wouldn’t put them in any danger.

Fernandez also clarified that Lopez’s injury was not caused by a legal punch attempt. Instead, he believes the brain bleeding was the result of rabbit punches, explaining that the doctor told him the bleeding occurred at a 72-degree angle to Lopez’s left ear.

When approached for comment, Leo defended his performance, saying his actions were within the rules. “I don’t consider myself a muddy fighter,” Leo said. “I would never aim for the back of the head because of the damage it does to other players.”

Leo acknowledged the physical nature of the fight but maintained that his punches were legal. “I think a lot of the action was on the inside,” Leo said. “We were both throwing hooks to the side of the head, which is a legal strike. I got warned once for hitting the rabbit because it was too low, but other than that I don’t think it changed the fight.

The situation is further complicated by the IBF’s 10-pound limit for weigh-ins on the morning of a fight, which requires fighters to weigh no more than 10 pounds from the previous day’s weight. Lopez, who has fought at heavyweight and lightweight, may have had trouble cutting weight, potentially weakening him ahead of the fight – an issue that has yet to be widely addressed.

Despite these concerns, the most pressing issue remains Lopez’s brain damage, a stark reminder of the risks fighters take and the fine line between triumph and tragedy in boxing.

Promoter Eddie Hearn says Matchroom has no one to replace Anthony Joshua when he retires from the sport. He suspects there won’t be anyone else in the next four to five years who can replicate what 2012 Olympic gold medalist Joshua (28-4, 25 KO) has done since signing with him 11 years ago.

(Source: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)

Hearn thinks AJ will fight for at least another year, two or three fights and then leave. All of these fights are expected to be substantial, with two fights against Tyson Fury and possibly a rematch with Daniel Dubois.

Joshua began his Matchroom career in 2013, knocking out his first 14 opponents in three rounds to the enthusiasm of the British boxing public.

He did not perform well at the 2012 London Olympics, winning several fights by controversial decision, with people outside the UK seeing Joshua as talented due to his fights in England.

Some believe that if these Olympics had been held in a neutral country, Joshua would not have won a medal at all. He would lose to Roberto Cammarelle of Italy, Erislandy Savon of Cuba, Ivan Dychko of Kazakhstan and Zhilei Zhang of China. I watched all these fights and thought Joshua should have lost all four.

At the professional level, Hearn has done a captain’s job of matching Joshua to the right type of opponents to make him look great. It wasn’t until after the Wladimir Klitschko fight that fans started to realize that he wasn’t as good as they thought.

“Financially, we make a lot of money, and every time AJ fights, we do well, but compared to the total revenue, especially the total boxing revenue, it’s a really diminutive part,” Eddie Hearn told Second exit when asked whether Anthony Joshua’s departure would hurt Matchroom financially.

“It is the nature and attitude of this man and the profile of events. Financially it doesn’t make a difference to us, but personally it means a lot to us because it’s been an amazing journey and it means a lot to British fight fans as well.

“So he’s definitely not retiring yet. I think you’ll see him for at least another year, so two or three fights, and then we’ll see. But the next decision will be very essential. I don’t think anyone will honestly ever take his place,” Hearn said when asked who would replace Joshua at his Matchroom boxing stable.

Joshua could retire if he knocks out early in his next fight, whether it’s Daniel Dubois or Tyson Fury. If Joshua is stopped in the first three rounds, he will likely hang up the gloves rather than continue to embarrass himself.

“When I say that, people will say, ‘Oh, there are better fighters.’ Yes, maybe, but commercially no one will be able to do what Anthony Joshua has done for boxing, certainly not in the next four to five years,” Hearn said.

Someone could eclipse Joshua commercially within five years, but that will be tough because many fighters tend to slack off once they make a lot of money. Joshua didn’t do it.

Additionally, fighters don’t compete often enough once they start turning a profit, and they can’t augment their commercial status by fighting only once a year. Either they don’t realize it or they are just inactive once they get a bunch of money. Joshua wasn’t inactive, but Hearn chose him well to protect him.

“There is no one in boxing at the moment who can even come close to the size of Anthony Joshua commercially. Hopefully there will be more, but this is certainly a one-off,” Hearn said.

Fans in the UK are much more interested in boxing than in the US and many other countries. After the 2012 Olympics, Joshua would never have been the same star in the States as he was in Britain because he would have had to fight a better opponent.

American fans wouldn’t pay attention to Joshua if he was competing against the tomato cans Hearn put him in during his first 14 fights. Moreover, they wouldn’t make much of a difference that Joshua beat 41-year-old Wladimir Klitschko the way the British public did because they would see that Wlad is ancient.