The heavyweight division aside, and barring, maybe one or two other fights, THE fight to see made this year is without a doubt the four-belt light heavyweight unification showdown that is Artur Beterbiev Vs. Dmitry Bivol. A genuine Boxer Vs. Puncher match up, one that would/will see two unbeaten fighters who, though slightly past their prime years, are still at the top of their game, this is a fight that no fight fan alive would want to miss seeing.
The fight simply has to happen, as Beterbiev said shortly after his hugely impressive, indeed scary stoppage win over a brave but outgunned Callum Smith.
“I think it’s going to happen……we don’t have a choice, we need to do this,” Beterbiev said of the Bivol fight. “I respect him, but he’s not a ‘great’ fighter.’ He holds one belt. I’m not great too. We’re gonna know who is the [great] fighter in this division.”
Beterbiev, who might be as modest as he is ruthlessly efficient in the ring, sounds like a man who knows his greatness could well be decided by the outcome of the Bivol fight, which is another reason why it’s so essential that the fight happens. We’ve seen too many ‘must-see,’ and, ‘they have to happen’ fights fall by the wayside over the years, but this fight cannot be permitted to join the list.
Both fighters want it, we fans for sure want it, and Bob Arum says the Saudis want it. And Saudi Arabia is the likely venue for the 175 pound epic in the making.
“It’s not done yet. But absolutely we want to do it,” Arum said over the weekend. “I’ll be talking to my friend His Excellency Turki Alalshikh. I know he wants to do it, but Ramadam is coming up. So, about three months after the end of Ramadam we’ll be ready to fight Dmitry Bivol, probably in Riyadh.”
Knowing the Saudis, this fight will get done and not only that, but a stacked card will accompany it. Yes, the Saudis have shown they have the means and the motivation to give us a super-card. In actuality, Beterbiev Vs. Bivol would sell itself, with no real need of a big under card. But to ask the question again – who wins this fight? Can you possibly pick a winner? Has either champion shown any obvious weaknesses in recent fights?
Beterbiev looked better than ever against Smith (in fact he looked too good in the opinion and the suspicious eye of some, Tony Bellew for one), while Bivol, though far less exciting, dominated a good fighter in Lyndon Arthur in his last fight, winning a shut-out over 12 rounds in December.
Beterbiev is perfect at 20-0(20). Bivol holds a flawless record of 22-0(11). Beterbiev is the older man by six years at age 39. Both men have been circling one another for years. Again, this one has to happen.
Eddie Hearn, speaking late on Saturday night, said the fight is a “done deal” as far as his side goes, with Bivol having signed on for the fight. It seems there is no chance Beterbiev will lose his pen when the time comes. Nothing can ever be taken for granted in the sport of boxing, but it really does seem as though Beterbiev Vs. Bivol, or Bivol Vs. Beterbiev (who do you have as the A-side here?) will come off here in 2024.
