By Keith Idec
Eddie Hearn has a unique understanding of Artur Beterbiev’s concussive power.
The outspoken promoter watched from a front-row seat inside Videotron Centre eight months ago as Beterbiev beat one of his most successful fighters, Callum Smith, into submission. Liverpool’s Smith hadn’t been down as an amateur or pro, let alone stopped inside the distance, before Beterbiev battered the former WBC/WBA super middleweight champion en route to two knockdowns and a seventh-round, technical-knockout victory January 13 in Quebec City, Canada.
Hearn previously witnessed another durable Brit, Callum Johnson, succumb to the ruthless Russian’s power in the fourth round on a Matchroom card six years ago in Chicago. Johnson scored a knockdown of his own that night, however, which is among the reasons Hearn has the utmost confidence in Bivol’s ability to beat Beterbiev.
In fact, Hearn considers Bivol’s power to be one of the unbeaten WBA light heavyweight champion’s most underrated attributes in advance of their 12-round, 175-pound title unification fight Saturday night.
“Artur Beterbiev has incredible power,” Hearn, whose company co-promotes Bivol, stated during a press conference Thursday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. “Don’t worry about the power of Dmitry Bivol. This isn’t gonna be a fight of just cat and mouse. This is gonna be a fight of power on both sides, of heart, of consistency of feet, of balance, of IQ, of all the wonderful parts, as Vadim [Kornilov] says, the sport science of boxing, the beautiful science. So, these guys have dedicated their life to the sport.”
Onlookers are enamored with the undefeated IBF/WBC/WBO champion’s power because Beterbiev has knocked out each of his 20 professional opponents. Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) beat Libyan contender Malik Zinad (22-1, 16 KOs) by sixth-round TKO in his last bout, but each of his previous nine wins went the 12-round distance.
Most oddsmakers still established Bivol as a slight favorite in this compelling clash of styles that, barring a draw or no-contest, will crown boxing’s first undisputed light heavyweight champion of the four-belt era.
Kornilov, who has worked with Bivol for nearly a decade, believes Bivol’s diverse skill set will enable him to leave the ring at Kingdom Arena with three more belts.
“A lot of people are talking about Artur Beterbiev and they’re talking about the power and the aggression and how do you deal with that?,” Kornilov said during the press conference. “You know, the questions are very similar. Somebody asked me today, and I just thought about it and I thought it was important to mention. Yes, power. Yes, aggression. But this is the sport of boxing. It’s a science. There’s a lot more attributes to an athlete. And what came to my mind was the words of Bruce Lee. He once said, ‘Be like water.’ And I thought that was very important to mention.
“I know Dmitry’s never gonna say it because Dmitry just kind of accepts and says, ‘OK, yeah, there’s power. I have to deal with that. You know, I’ll see how that goes.’ But water sometimes when it’s consistent, properly managed, when it’s not overly aggressive, with time it can protrude, it can weather through the sturdiest of rock. And I think that’s an important answer for all the press that have been asking. Because I believe the boxing skills and the science and the persistence and the balance is gonna be a very important factor in this fight.”
Bivol, 33, is significantly younger than the 39-year-old Beterbiev, who has fewer fights than his opponent because he didn’t make his pro debut until he was 29 and has suffered various injuries that have limited his activity in recent years.
“This is it,” Hearn said. “This is the moment for both men. I believe Dmitry Bivol will become undisputed world champion on Saturday night. He will achieve his lifelong dream. And he fights to the level of opposition. And he has the greatest opponent in the division in front of him on Saturday night. There is only one man in the world that can beat Artur Beterbiev, and that’s Dmitry Bivol. And that will happen on Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.”
Beterbiev-Bivol will headline a DAZN Pay-Per-View show that will begin at 7 p.m. GMT in the UK (£19.99). ESPN+ will stream the main event to its subscribers in the United States, where the undercard will also be made available by DAZN to its subscribers for no additional cost.
