RDS will once again present the fight between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev on Wednesday October 23 from 8 p.m.
SPECIAL COLLABORATION
Already a week has passed since the big clash which established Artur Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) as the first undisputed light heavyweight champion since Roy Jones Jr. (66-10, 47 KOs. -O.) in 2002 and I still feel a lot of pride about it.
Even the recriminations of the promoter of the defeated Dmitry Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs), Eddie Hearn, who wants the judges to be banned. Or his manager, Vadim Kornilov, who claims that Polish judge Pawel Kardyni (116-112) was bought by the president of Chechnya Ramzan Kadyrov in no way diminishes the feat of the adopted Quebecer.
I had a score of 115-113 and it could have easily been 116-112.
Some people claim that the fight was not up to expectations, which I completely refute, unless the expectations were to witness a Gatti/Ward IV. If this is the case, it is because we had misjudged the forces involved.
Last Saturday, we witnessed pure pugilism between two great ring minds with diametrically opposed skills. Throughout their respective careers, Beterbiev and Bivol have easily imposed their will on all their rivals, but this time they had to adapt and take into account each other’s strengths.
Artur did not embark on a one-sided demolition enterprise, mainly because Bivol’s counterattack was fast, precise and explosive.
Bivol did not treat himself to a picnic because he had to prioritize his defense above all else. He admitted that he could measure the full extent of his rival’s power by absorbing the blows on his arms and that he could not afford to let any go to waste. Moreover, his swollen left eye was caused by his own gloves under the impact of the new champion’s blows.
In my opinion, after the conclusion of the twelfth round, it was “King” Artur who had imposed his will the most overall and the judges rated it well.
With this victory, the unified WBC, WBA, IBF and WBO light heavyweight champion has just slipped into a position of choice among the best boxers in the world, pound for pound. He certainly finds himself in the top-4 with his opponent from the London 2012 Olympic Games, the unified heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk (20-0, 14 KOs), with the former unified super-lightweight champion and welterweight Terence Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs), as well as unified super bantamweight and bantamweight champion Naoya Inoue (28-0, 25 KOs)
Its place in history is also assured. He will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility, after the mandatory three-year wait.
You have to go all the way back to Roy Jones Jr. to find a comparable to Beterbiev in the history of the light heavyweight division. His record surpasses those of champions Adonis Stevenson (29-2-1, 24 KOs), Sergei Kovalev (35-5-1, 29 KOs) or Andre Ward (32-0, 16 KOs. -O.), who will certainly have a place in Canastota via the super means.
For Bivol, the defeat is bitter, but at 33 he is young and will have time to recover and make his mark.
It is necessary to emphasize the humility of Beterbiev in the victory who, sarcastically, claims that he is not yet a good boxer and that Bivol has more skills than him. For his part, the fallen champion is not involved in his team’s aggressive accusations. He didn’t make excuses, he was courteous and respectful.
Since the announcement of the scores by the famous Michael Buffer at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, there has been talk of a rematch as quickly as possible and everyone seems to agree that it is the logical next step.
It’s obvious that as of right now, these two giants are unmatched in the division right now.
Moreover, the famous lawyer Pat English from New York has already filed requests with the four associations to immediately order a rematch.
Unless Canelo Alvarez decides to face Beterbiev, which is highly unlikely, the most profitable fight for both would be to organize a rematch.
However, being a champion of an association also requires responsibilities towards other aspirants. Artur Beterbiev has four mandatory challengers waiting their turn. While a unification fight takes precedence over a compulsory defense, a rematch is not a unification fight and very often associations favor the compulsory fight.
To meet the requirements of four mandatory candidates, the associations agreed that there would be a rotation so that eventually they all had a chance.
Beterbiev faced his WBC mandatory challenger Callum Smith in Quebec in his last fight. He had defeated WBO player Anthony Yarde in England the previous year. Dmitrii Bivol met the requirements of the mandatory WBA by taking on Gilberto Ramirez in Abu Dhabi in November 2022.
The 4 mandatory contenders are in order: IBF Michael Eifert (13-1, 5 KOs), WBA the Cuban David Morrell (11-0, 9 KOs), WBO the Englishman Joshua Buatsi ( 19-0, 13 KOs) and the last the American David Benavidez (29-0, 24 KOs)
It is therefore the turn of the IBF mandatory contender to get his chance. We know this one very well, it’s the German Michael Eifert, Jean Pascal’s killer in Laval last year.
Benavidez and Morrell would meet to unify their two mandatory contender positions in January. A very interesting fight in perspective which would allow the winner to speed up the process.
Yesterday, the IBF officially ordered the start of negotiations between the unified champion’s and Eifert’s clans, making sure to mention that it may consider a potential request for a bye from Beterbiev for the rematch.
Asked about this, Bob Arum, Beterbiev’s promoter, was not completely sold on the immediate rematch. He suggested that it might be wise, in time, for both Beterbiev and Bivol to fight an interim fight.
Arum is a fine fox. It may just be a negotiation tactic to raise the stakes and ensure that you obtain the largest share of the financial resources available for the recovery.
Artur will be 40 years old on January 21st and in my opinion, it would be better if his next fight was a rematch against Bivol which could take place at the end of next spring.
Not that I believe the original Chechen is on his last legs, but I can imagine nothing more exciting than discerning which of the two will have learned the most from their first confrontation and know how to make the necessary adjustments.
With his style and little battle wear, I expect the champion to give us several more good years. If Bernard Hopkins became world champion again at 46, Beterbiev can easily get to 43 or 44 and still be champion.
Finally, for those who missed the live presentation of last Saturday’s clash, I invite you to watch the replay on RDS on Wednesday, October 23 from 8 p.m.
Happy boxing and see you next week.
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