On Saturday, the most hotly anticipated light heavyweight showdown in years will take place when Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol meet for the undisputed 175-pound championship.
Probably.
We think.
Skepticism of the realization of a Beterbiev–Bivol fight—which to be clear is actually happening after both fighters participated in a predictably dull press conference on Thursday—is well founded. The two top light heavyweights, who have been the two top light heavyweights for years, have had several stops and starts, the most recent a scrapping of a scheduled June date after Beterbiev suffered a knee injury.
For now—fingers crossed—it’s on.
“I want a good fight,” said Beterbiev. “I’m preparing for a good fight.
Said Bivol, “I’m just different. This is why it is such an interesting fight.”
Polite trash talk aside this isn’t just a good fight. On paper, it’s a great fight. “The best fight in boxing,” boasted Bivol’s promoter, Eddie Hearn. Beterbiev (20–0) is a destroyer, the only champion who has knocked out every opponent. Last January, Beterbiev faced Callum Smith, a younger, taller ex-super middleweight titleholder who had blown out his first two opponents at 175 pounds. After seven rounds of punishment, Smith’s corner threw in the towel.
Bivol (23–0) is more boxer than puncher, a fluid, jab happy fighter who prefers to keep opponents at a distance. If Beterbiev has the more appealing style, Bivol wins on résumé. In 2022, Bivol knocked off Canelo Álvarez—the first fighter to defeat Canelo in nearly a decade. Months later, Bivol handed Gilberto Ramírez his first career defeat. Bivol can have some maddening performances—lackluster decisions over Craig Richards and Lyndon Arthur, for example—but he’s at his best when the lights are brightest.
And these two have history. They were amateur teammates in Russia. Sparring partners, as Beterbiev recalls, “a long time ago.” Beterbiev went on to become a two-time Olympian, racking up gold medals in European and World competitions. Bivol, a few years behind him, collected plenty of international hardware of his own. Both have said the fight isn’t personal. Neither seems to like the other much, either.
“I think this one, you don’t have to sell to fight fans,” said Hearn. “They know the educated fight fans, the casual fight fans, it doesn't really matter. The wider world need to know just how great this fight is.”
They will … won’t they? If there’s a concern about Beterbiev–Bivol it’s that it’s happening a few years too late. The two have been titleholders since 2017 and the only champions at 175 pounds since 2022, when Beterbiev blitzed Joe Smith Jr. to collect his third belt. Money has been an obstacle. As skilled as both are, neither have the kind of ticket-buying fan bases or pay-per-view selling power to justify the exorbitant purses for this event. The presence of Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi official who has spent lavishly on events just like this, is the only reason this fight is happening.
And it’s great that it is happening. But there are questions. Mostly about Beterbiev, whose physical problems in recent years have been well chronicled. Four of his last six fights have been delayed by injury. Last May, Beterbiev, 39, needed surgery to repair a ruptured meniscus. All week he has insisted that he is healthy. “There is no problem,” said his trainer, Marc Ramsay. But with just five-plus months of recovery time, it’s reasonable to wonder if there could be.
“Injuries, I think, are part of sport,” Beterbiev said. “Injuries always come with sport, any sport. It happens.”
True, though they seem to happen to Beterbiev often. He has had multiple procedures on his knees. Last year his fight with Callum Smith was delayed after Beterbiev needed dental surgery to repair a bone infection in his jaw. At his open workout this week Beterbiev did some stretching, some hand-eye coordination drills … and not much else.
Physically, Bivol, 33, has fewer questions. He’s been active—Saturday’s fight will be Bivol’s third in the last ten months—and often fights better in bigger moments. He asserted himself physically against Álvarez and used superior footwork to flummox Ramírez.
“Every time I think about my opponents, I get excited,” Bivol said. “One of them [Álvarez] is the face of boxing. It was exciting to fight against this guy. Another one [Ramírez] had around 50 fights and never lost. So it makes me more excited, not nervous. And Artur is a great champion. He has what I want. He has the belts. And it’s not only about belts. When I look at his skills, I want to check my skills also against this amazing fighter.”
If boxing is guilty of anything it’s over marinating matchups. Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao fought years past their primes. Same with Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. Fights featuring Gervonta Davis against Vasyl Lomachenko and Shakur Stevenson are still in a holding pattern. Efforts to squeeze out every nickel have damaged the product.
Will Beterbiev–Bivol be different? It’s all lined up. Top two light heavyweights, the chance to be crowned the first undisputed 175-pound champion since Roy Jones Jr. and the first ever in the four belt era. It could be a great night for boxing. Or it could be something else.
This article was originally published on www.si.com as Questions Persist as Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol Prepare for Long-Awaited Match.