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Bivol Not Surprised By Beterbiev’s KO Of Smith; Bivol Rules Out Canelo Fight

Originally posted on BoxingNews.com | Last updated 1/22/24

Dmitry Bivol sees Artur Beterbiev as a strong opponent, as he was not surprised by his knockout win over Callum Smith.

The two are on course to face each other for the Undisputed Light Heavyweight Championship of the world. Bivol has the WBA belt, while Beterbiev has the WBO, WBC and IBF belts. The former is coming off a unanimous decision win against Lyndon Arthur.

That was Bivol’s 11th successful defense of his title. Beterbiev stopped Callum Smith in his last bout, dropping the Brit twice in round seven to extend his 100 percent knockout rate. Although a fight has not been announced, Bivol does expect it to happen. Provided that it does so, Bivol sees this as a stern test.

Bivol On Beterbiev

“I like smart boxing. I believe I show this boxing, and I hope it should be better than power; [And] I hope these skills win. I wasn’t surprised. Beterbiev was as good as I expected him. I didn’t see anything new. He was power as he was before, and he did his job,” Bivol said

Their match-up is intriguing once, given the different styles. Bivol is a masterful boxer. He has an excellent understanding of distance, allowing him to shoot things off his jab. Beterbiev is equally a proficient boxer but often gets more plaudits for his power, which is understandable since he has stopped all his opponents.

Bivol On Canelo

But one thing Bivol has shown is that he can neutralise his opponents. He did this when he faced off against Canelo Alvarez. The Mexican was facing Bivol at 175, and it was expected to be a tough test since Canelo had knocked out Sergey Kovalev at light heavyweight.

But Bivol managed to outbox Canelo, push him back and prevent the Mexican from setting up his body attacks. While a rematch was discussed, the pair could not agree on the terms. Bivol wanted it at 168 for the chance to fight for Canelo’s undisputed title.

Meanwhile, Alvarez wanted to run things back at 175. Alvarez also stated that he had a hand issue in the fight in an attempt to downplay the significance of Bivol’s performance. The rematch never got made, and it is not likely to happen, according to Bivol.

“How can I make [negotiations] difficult? We didn’t even discuss it, to be honest. Nothing. He had his dates already and then I saw in the news that the problem was me. It was funny. I beat him once. I’m good. I’m not a big light heavyweight fighter.

“I can make 168, but only for belts. Canelo has the belts, and that is why I wanted to fight him. But now we have other plans and we will follow our plans, and then we will see. Maybe in the future…I hope I will fight for undisputed in my weight class because the subject with Canelo is now closed,” Bivol stated

This article first appeared on BoxingNews.com and was syndicated with permission.

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