When it comes to big-time professional boxing, there are different levels and categorizations within sub-genres that fans and experts often refer to as “superfights”.
Of course there are the curiosity types, like next month’s Mike Tyson-Jake Paul circus, designed to excite every casual fan you know, from grandmas to pre-teens and everyone in between. And then Saturday’s can’t-miss fight on offer in the light heavyweight division when Artur Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) and Dmitry Bival (23-0, 12 KOs) square off in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Both of these Russian-born fighters are anything but household names outside of boxing. And getting one to say a bad word about each other — or even a prediction of how they might win a fight — is like trying to get blood out of a stone.
The best news, however, is that none of this is remotely important.
This matchup, which is the first four-belt crown, undisputed champion at light heavyweight, has more to do with history and more to do with social media bragging rights than the celebration of two greats finally battling it out in a true, 50/50 fight for 175-pound supremacy. do something
This is boxing at its very best.
And the closer one looks at the matchup of the 33-year-old Bivol, with his WBA title at stake against the battle-tested Beterbiev’s WBC/WBO/IBF crown, the more one realizes that it’s the undisputed title coveted in this era of potentially stretched (and often meaningless) titles. more than
During a gluttonous stretch of the best boxers of all time vying for dominance at the top of the pound-for-pound rankings, with three fighters at the top (Olexandr Usyk, Terence Crawford and Nawa Inoue) making legitimate arguments for the top spot, Beterbeev-Bevel is not only an opportunity to upset the P4P party but A chance to potentially overcome it.
With both fighters sitting in the back end of the top 5 on most lists (including CBS Sports), there’s no greater feat than defeating a top 5 opponent from a P4P perspective in a truly great match against each other. Neither are looking to add the cherry on top of their respective resumes and legacies, with the winner likely to be able to stand alone after the fight as the best boxer in the entire sport.
And even if a cynical fan points out the inevitable fact that Beterbiev, who fights out of Montreal, is already 39 years old and entering a new bout with knee surgery that delayed his original date, that doesn’t take away from the anticipation of what Saturday will be about. may come
“If I have some problem (with my knee), the medical commission will not let me go and fight,” Beterbiev told CBS Sports Last week “If I’m here, I’m ready to fight. I believe everything happened at the right time. At this point, we’ve had a few fights for integration (in recent years). We didn’t sit on the chair and wait. For this fight.”
From a modern historical perspective, Beterbiev-Bival belongs in the same sentence as recent unification superfights, with established, undefeated champions such as Floyd Mayweather-Manny Pacquiao (2015), Andre Ward-Sergei Kovalev I (2016), Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. (2016) involved 2023) and Usyk-Tyson Fury (2024).
Both boxers are sure, future Hall-of-Famers already, with Beterbiev riding an absurd career-long streak of knocking out every opponent he’s faced while Bivol was narrowly missed out on a unanimous Fighter of the Year award after defeating Canelo Alvarez. and 44-0 Gilberto “Jurdo” Ramirez.
Many duly thanked the Turkish Alalsikh and the Saudi Arabian government for funding the fight. And in some ways, the lack of crossover commercial attention given to both fighters makes it fair to question if this fight could have happened without them (and certainly not on such a big stage).
“I don’t know about it, but if (Alalsikh) helped make this fight happen, I think we know that guy. He helped us make this fight. But we’ll never know that it wouldn’t have happened (without him),” Beterbiev said. . “Every good boxer wants to get an opportunity like this. I am really happy. I am working towards this goal every day.”
Both fighters circled each other for a while in recent years while busy with other big names and champions. But each always knew the other would be waiting. And the fact that it took so long makes the fight even bigger in its importance, especially with four titles at stake.
“As a soldier wants to be a general, (being the undisputed champion) is the same,” Bivol said told TNT Sports Time for his “face-off” with Beterbiev this week. “This is the ultimate step for all pro boxers. If we’re talking trophies and belts, what else are you going to achieve in this weight class? Everything was for it.”
What makes the fight even more special is the fantastic contrast of styles as Beterbiev, despite having a strong amateur background, is more known for his crippling power with both hands. Bival, meanwhile, is more of the pure boxer of the two known for his upright stance, quick hands and aggressive style of in-and-out attacks.
“(Bival) is a good boxer, he has good experience, both professional and amateur,” Beterbiev said. “I can’t say anything (in terms of a prediction). I can lie to you but it’s not true. Nobody knows what’s going to happen but I’ll try my best. We’ll see. We don’t know. It’s boxing, it’s not chess. “
So, does this make Bivol the toughest test of Beterbiev’s career?
“We’ll see,” Beterbiev said. “I’m not really interested in that right now. After the fight, I might be able to answer that question.”
Bivol, for his part, was just as elusive in making any definitive statements regarding the fight. While their styles may differ, the two former teammates in the Russian amateur system have a ton of respect for each other, even if they’re not close on a personal level outside of the ring.
“I just have to be the best version of me. I just have to do my job and focus on using all my skills 100% every second,” Bivol said. “I’m not Nostradamus, where I can tell what’s going to happen. But I’ll come to the ring and bring my skills and try to win.”
No trash talk. No unnecessary gestures are tactful. And no B.S.
Beterbiev-Bivol is almost as great an event as boxing can make between two of the best and most talented fighters who could have competed in almost any era.
Lucky for boxing fans in 2024, their era is now.
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