There might not be a more menacing sight in all sport that Artur Beterbiev in full flow.
The holder of the WBC, WBO and IBF light-heavyweight titles, he is one of boxing’s most destructive punchers.
He is a multi-belt champion whom no one has been able to contain. No professional fighter has gone the distance with him and Beterbiev has spent years operating at the highest levels.
He has got to them late, or got to them early, but no opponent has managed to hear the final bell.
But, this Saturday, live on Sky Sports Box Office, Beterbiev is facing his greatest threat yet.
Dmitry Bivol, the holder of the WBA belt, has the only major championship outside of Beterbiev’s possession.
Undefeated like Beterbiev, Bivol is strong himself. A stern puncher, with outstanding footwork and timing, Bivol has a style that has convinced many that he is possibly the only man who can beat the unified titlist.
But if he is to be the toughest test of Beterbiev’s career, the unified champion is waiting to be convinced.
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Beterbiev and Bivol face-off for the very first time ahead of their undisputed light heavyweight clash
“We’ll see. I’m really interested to know that. I don’t know. I always prepare for 12 rounds, for hard work,” Beterbiev told Sky Sports.
But he is extremely confident in the power behind his fists. “If I land, everyone can be knocked out,” he said, before adding: “At the same time we’re not thinking about a knockout, it’s not the main thing in our team.
“It’s not good if you prepare for a fight with one scenario. You need to be smarter.”
Beterbiev speaks softly but is no less menacing for that. He does not need histrionics or trashtalk. His KO power does all the screaming for him.
“Just seeing Artur who’s so quiet minded, so quiet, and just said [to Bivol at the press conference]: ‘He knows,'” noted Todd DuBoef, president of Top Rank which promotes Beterbiev.
“He doesn’t talk smack, he wasn’t getting in his face. ‘He knows’… The confidence was just beautiful and it was so Artur.
“His English is good but not that good and he just knew that all he needed to get across was that he mentally feels very comfortable about this fight and very excited.”
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Watch Beterbiev’s brutal assault on Callum Smith from ringside as he knocked out the British challenger in the seventh round (vid courtesy of Top Rank)
Bivol and Beterbiev boxed on the same squad as amateurs when they were on the Russian national team, though they were in different weight categories at that time.
“I remember him from the national team but we’ve never been friends,” Beterbiev said.
When it comes to what it is that Bivol actually ‘knows’, Beterbiev didn’t feel any urge expand on it. “Ask him,” he said.
“It’s not my style to trash talk before a fight.”
DuBoef is convinced he was reminding Bivol of something specific. “Just the confidence, there’s something that he was referring to,” DuBoef said. “I think there’s something deep rooted that these two have, a couple of decades ago when they were amateurs.
“I thought that Artur did a really good job in being well composed and whatever that memory is, it’s giving him a lot of confidence.
“We’ll find out. We don’t have to worry about going back to old grainy footage.”
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Beterbiev continued his vicious knockout streak as he halted Smith in the seventh round and retained his light heavyweight world titles
Whatever it might be, Beterbiev will look to prove his point on Saturday when he fights Bivol for the undisputed light-heavyweight world championship.
He might speak softly, but he fights hard for however long his opponents can last. His unique approach, the sheer force he can unleash makes him a thrilling fighter to watch.
“I love the guys that come out and seek and destroy,” DuBoef said. “I’ve always loved watching that style. So telegenic. Just that Terminator type – ‘I may get hit with a shot, I may get buckled, I may go down, but I’m coming back at you’.
“I think that’s what makes boxing so dramatic and beautiful. I’m going to make you pay, and I’m going to take something for it but I’m going to hunt and seek you down and I’m going to show I’m the baddest man on the planet.”
Beterbiev himself put it more succinctly. “I think it’s going to be a good fight,” he said softly, before smiling.
Fabio Wardley vs Frazer Clarke is part of a packed show on Sky Sports Box Office
Fabio Wardley’s huge rematch with Frazer Clarke is on the epic Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol bill on Saturday October 12 live on Sky Sports Box Office. Book Wardley v Clarke 2 and Beterbiev v Bivol now!
