Russian boxer Dmitry Bivol’s trainer, Gennady Mashyanov, told that the one-year layoff had no effect on the WBA light heavyweight champion.
Bivol (21-0, KO 11) will defend the WBA belt on December 23 in Saudi Arabia against Briton Lyndon Arthur (23-1, KO 16), who holds the secondary IBO light heavyweight title. For the Russian, recognized as the best boxer in many versions, this fight will be the first in 2023. Bivol’s last fight took place in November 2022 in the United Arab Emirates, when the Russian defeated Mexican Gilberto Ramirez by unanimous decision .
— Some boxers, when talking about a long downtime, use the verb “to rust”. Does this apply to Bivol?
– Not really. That’s not quite the right expression. Yes, I would like more practice. Basically, I’d like to have at least two fights a year, or better yet, three. Have psychological relaxation. After all, when a person does not box for a long time, it is psychologically stressful,” Mashyanov told .
— Did this downtime bother Dmitry a lot?
– No, I don’t see any trace of this situation on him. Dima enters the fight in good shape, he is optimistic. We did a good preparation. Dima is calm, ready to face any opponent. Our goal has never been to win at all costs, by any means; our goal is to show a high level of boxing and skill. You must show your technical and tactical advantage in order to neutralize your opponent’s strengths.
— Is it possible to approach the choice of Lyndon Arthur as a rival according to the principle: “Agree, at least with someone”?
– He is a very good opponent. He is high in the rankings and has only suffered one loss in a rematch against Anthony Yarde, whom he beat for the first time. And in the rematch, Arthur relaxed or yawned… He just missed it.
Live broadcasts of professional boxing tournaments can be seen on and Match! Fighter”, as well as on the sites matchtv.ru and sportbox.ru.
Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
