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Every time in boxing, you get the perfect fight. They are hard to find, and even harder to sign, but they exist. Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol is one of those fights.
For all the criticism given to Saudi Arabia entering boxing, amid concerns about the washing of the sport, the new authorities in the kingdom are sure to deliver matches that were previously impossible for fans. Among these matches, of course, one prefers to find this perfect fight.
In May, Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk squared off: the first undisputed heavyweight title fight in 25 years, a meeting of the undefeated talents of a generation. But even then, the “perfect” fight is usually only on paper, and not necessarily in the ring. Fury and Usyk, however, deliver a modern classic, and they can still do the same in the rematch on December 21.
Overshadowed by a pair of heavyweight blockbusters in Riyadh, sitting between them chronologically and taking place in the same city, is Saturday’s main event: Beterbiev vs Bivol.
Like Fury vs Usyk 1, this is an undisputed title fight between undefeated, pound-for-pound talents. Beterbiev, No. 6 in the Indy Sport rankings, holds the WBC, WBO and IBF light heavyweight titles. Bivol, ranked fifth on our list, is the WBA Super champion. Both fighters are of Russian descent, although Beterbiev currently represents Canada and Bivol is of Kyrgyz heritage.
But just as Beterbiev and Bivol share an interesting dynamic, their differences are equally striking. The fight can almost be described as the beauty of Bivol’s work against the beast that is Beterbiev.
This beast has a record of 20-0, and has destroyed every opponent he has faced. Bivol, meanwhile, has 12 losses out of 23 unanswered wins. The 33-year-old is a volume puncher, a fluid technician and a deft mover, while Beterbiev prefers to attack opponents: sometimes early, sometimes late, but always brutally.
Until now. Bivol believes he can be the man to finally fight the 39-year-old, whose age has proven statistically irrelevant in recent fights. And Bivol is not the only one who believes; The odds of having this thing are close to 50-50, but with young people it’s always a bit like it.
However, there is a chance that Bivol can beat Beterbiev until he doesn’t. It’s not hard to imagine a faster, neater man leading Beterbiev after seven, eight, nine laps — maybe 11 — only to be humbled by the astonishing power, stealing the sense that has turned the fortunes of so many.
Eddie Hearn, Bivol’s promoter, is said to be one of those who believe in the possibility of the IBO king, but Hearn acknowledges the dangers that will swallow all the people that Beterbiev faces.
Speaking to BBC 5’s Indy Sport columnist Steve Bunce Live Boxing podcast, Hearn is available below, a suitable description: “I think the best way to describe it, during the Beterbiev fight, it’s like a ticking time bomb. You know when you let it go, and it starts: tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick,.
“But the speed of the time bomb depends on the opponent. So, when the ring is cut, when you walk down, because you can’t take pressure, volume, punch selection, tick, tick, tick, tick, tick it moves faster. Now, Dmitry has the ability to make it move very slowly.
“How slow can he make it move? The ‘boom’ point is 12 laps, and that’s really what happened. Beterbiev is going to get you, but how fast can he get you? And how long have you left when he gets you?
“Now the only person who can beat Beterbiev is Dmitry Bivol, no one else. And he can do it. But what you can’t afford to get two or three rounds in, and suddenly (ticking quickens), because you lose time. What you want to do is get to eight or nine, and still be slow.
“And you might get caught on the 10th or 11th, when you’re seven rounds in, and you might have to keep going. You’ve got to slow down the clock — with a little bit of legwork and power. In the last thing you want to back it up. and whatever you dodon’t touch the rope.”
There it is: Bivol must be perfect; Beterbiev did not. Either way, it was a perfect fight on paper. Some would argue it would have been better with Beterbiev over 40 – or even earlier this year, before he suffered a torn meniscus. The old Beterbiev is no less exciting than his younger days, no less scary, but for a 39-year-old to recover from a serious knee injury in six months … that would be a victory in itself.
In any case, when the first bell rings on Saturday night, it’s not the only sound you hear. Somewhere, maybe in the back of your head, there will be another voice. Tick…tick…
