Eddie Hearn: “Only Bivol Can Beat Beterbiev”

Eddie Hearn says Dmitry Bivol can defeat Artur Beterbiev by jumping out to an early 6-2 lead and then using movement to win on Saturday night in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Watch the fight live on ESPN+ in the USA and live on DAZN outside the US & Canda.

Hearn views IBF, WBC, and WBO light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) like a “ticking time bomb” that can go off as the rounds go on.

The Matchroom promoter Hearn wants his fighter, WBA champion Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs), to use speedy combinations, angles, and movement to prevent Beterbiev from exploding on him.

It sounds like a great plan in theory, but Bivol is a combination puncher, and he doesn’t have a great chin, so he can’t handle getting hit to the body. Bivol is fine when he’s the one throwing, but he doesn’t react well when getting hit back.

We saw Bivol get hurt in the eighth round by a body shot from Lyndon Arthur last December in Riyadh. That shot took much of the fight out of Bivol, as he played it safe from then on.

It was a similar situation when Joe Smith Jr.staggered Bivol late in the 11th round with a hard right hand in their bout on March 9th, 2019, in Verona, New York. Bivol looked drunken as he stumbled back to his corner as the round ended.

Complete Beterbiev – Bivol Card for Saturday

– Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol
– Chris Eubank Jr vs Kamil Szeremeta
– Fabio Wardley vs Frazer Clarke II
– Jai Opetaia vs Jack Massey
– Ben Whittaker vs Liam Cameron
– Skye Nicolson vs Raven Chapman
– Mohammed Alakel vs Jesus Gonzalez

“When you say it’s a fight fan’s fight, it really is. I hope the bigger casual world understands the importance of this fight for boxing because it really is the best against the best,” said Eddie Hearn to BoxNation, discussing the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol light heavyweight undisputed bout.

“I think the only person that can beat Artur Beterbiev is Dmitry Bivol and maybe vice versa. It’s the undisputed light heavyweight championship on the line on Saturday night. It’s almost like a ticking time bomb when you fight Artur Beterbiev. The speed with which that ticks depends on your speed and ability and your movement to slow that clock down because he’s going to get you. It’s when.”

Hearn’s vision of Bivol defeating Beterbiev would be more believable if Dmitry proved himself against some of the talented killers at 175, like Joshua Buatsi, David Benavidez, and David Morrell. But given that Bivol’s best career wins have come against Canelo Alvarez and Gilberto Ramirez, it’s unrealistic to assume he’ll be victorious against Beterbiev.

A more likely scenario is Bivol getting chased down and knocked out in the sixth round by Beterbiev because he’s not made physically for this kind of fighting.

“So, if you’re Dmitry Bivol, what you want to do is make that clock tick nice and slow,” Hearn continued. “Unfortunately, when you look at Callum Smith, by the fourth and fifth round, that clock was already around here, and it was nearly time to go.”

Smith tried to use movement against Beterbiev, but it didn’t work because he cut off the ring on him to force him into exchanges. Callum looked like a trapped animal by the sixth, getting pummeled by Beterbiev, and looking traumatized. We could see the same thing with Bivol, who doesn’t possess Smith’s power.

“What Dmitry has got to do is get to six, seven, and eight unscathed and boxing nice and 6-2 up [on the judges’ scorecards]. He’ll be in the position to keep that rhythm going to keep him [Beterbiev] off,” said Hearn.

Bivol jumping out to a big 6-2 lead over Beterbiev would be a dream for Hearn because he could then coast for the final four rounds from 9-to-12 to win a 12-round unanimous decision. That would be a boring fight for the fans, but Hearn’s fighter, Bivol, would get the victory and move on to face Canelo Alvarez in a lucrative rematch.

“This is another one of those fights where you can’t just walk Bivol down and back him up on the roads and unload. He’s [Bivol] going to be firing back with speed, he’s going to be using the angles, and you got to be worried about what’s coming back as well. You can win fights comfortably with good footwork,” said Hearn.

Beterbiev can walk Bivol down because even with him moving, he’s going to get caught. Beterbiev’s ability to cut off the ring on movers is superb, and Bivol cannot elude him without getting caught. We saw Oleksandr Usyk attempt to escape Beterbiev’s pressure in the 2012 Olympics, and he was caught repeatedly and hurt in his controversial victory.