Russian boxers DMitriy Bivol (22-0, KO 11) and Artur Beterbiev (20-0, KO 20) won the light heavyweight championship belts in 2017. Bivol went on to make 11 WBA title defenses and Beterbiev amassed a collection of IBF, WBO and WBC belts. All this time, their face-to-face meeting was actively discussed, but only now, in January 2024, the confrontation desired by many is becoming real – we must thank Saudi Arabia, which is ready to organize a fight for the title of absolute world champion among boxers playing for different promoters and television channels.
On January 13 in Quebec, Beterbiev defeated British WBC mandatory challenger Callum Smith by eighth-round technical knockout. And discussions about the Beterbiev-Bivol fight began with renewed vigor.
A correspondent spoke with Bivol, and in this interview you can discover:
“DURING THE FIGHT WITH SMITH, I DID NOT SEE SOMETHING THAT SURPRISED ME DIRECTLY”
— How do you evaluate Beterbiev’s performance in the fight with Smith?
“I’ll say this…I haven’t seen anything that would really surprise me.” I pretty much expected him to win against Smith, to be physically stronger. I expected him to approach Smith and harass his opponent with his massive punches. In principle, this is how everything happened.
— Callum Smith was considered by many to be the most dangerous opponent in recent times. But in the end, Beterbiev had no problem against Smith.
– I can explain. Callum Smith is a very comfortable boxer for Beterbiev. Smith doesn’t take advantage of his size or long arms at all. And it wasn’t hard for Arthur to walk up to him and hit him with one blow. Callum stands there and waits for a counterattack. In other words, the Briton allows him to get within range, which is very practical for Beterbiev.
Overall, I wasn’t very surprised by how he handled the fight. But I admit that I didn’t even think about whether Arthur would win in the eighth, seventh, second or twelfth round. I just figured Arthur should win. That’s what happened.
— And the question about your direct confrontation with Beterbiev, which was asked to you over the last four years, can today take on different colors. How realistic is your meeting?
– Yes, she’s real. he even called me [председатель Главного управления развлечений Саудовской Аравии] Turki Al ash-Sheikh asked me if I was ready. Naturally, I replied that I was ready. “Now let’s agree on a date.” Our team agreed on the conditions, they asked me by date. Now we have to wait for them to agree with Top Rank and announce the date. I think our fight announcement will happen soon. It would just be unethical for me to release something publicly now. Generally, it is the promoters or organizers who announce the fights, not the athletes.
— Did I understand correctly that your team has already agreed on all your conditions for the fight with Beterbiev?
— We agreed on our basic conditions even before signing the fight with Lyndon Arthur (Bivol won in December in Saudi Arabia. — Note from ). There is no need to negotiate much with us or Matchroom. Now Beterbiev’s camp, Top Rank, is negotiating the terms.
— So you didn’t sign a contract for the fight with Beterbiev?
– Look, I didn’t sign the contract for the fight itself. We have formally agreed to the conditions of our camp in the event of a fight. In general, we agreed [с организаторами], now there is nothing more to negotiate with us. We will now only be asked for the date: are we ready on a specific date?
—Have you ever talked about deadlines?
— We were talking about the end of April, but now it’s a little different.
— Ramadan will end on April 9, so we will most likely talk about holding battles in the summer.
— I think we should expect the announcement of the dates when the Saudi side has determined everything.
“I WANT BOXING TO BE A CONFESSION OF INDIVIDUALS AND NOT OF COUNTRIES”
– Do you understand that now your fight with Beterbiev is as real as it has ever been?
– Of course, there is this understanding. We understand that it is real and that this fight is close. Great.
— Many are skeptical about the confrontation between the two Russians, but think in context: “Is there no one to beat the others?”
— I really want sport and boxing… not to be a confrontation between countries, but a confrontation of personalities, of characters, of styles. It’s not amateur sport or the Olympic Games, it’s professional sport. And here the professionalism of one person is opposed to the professionalism of another. I want it to be seen that way, so that it is not divided into nations. I would like everyone to be able to find something in a boxer that they like personally, a style, a character trait. And not just because of the principle of the country he represents. I wish it was a little more in-depth.
— But would you agree that in your confrontation the fans will be divided into two camps, which, to a certain extent, could divide Russian boxing? No matter how strong it may seem. Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev were previously thought to be the two flagships of modern Russian professional boxing. And in the coming fight, everyone will make a choice. And I will say myself that I will not believe those who say: “I support both”. Everyone will make their own choice.
– It is a sport. You always support someone more due to the fact that you associate more closely with someone, they are closer to you in spirit, in some other qualities. That’s why I like to support fighters… For example, Usyk. In his style, I see what I have. I associate his style with mine. There is a Soviet boxing school. And I want this school to win. I love Terence Crawford. I see that he is an active and very thoughtful boxer. I love supporting him. Why do I like Manny Pacquiao? I like his personality, his character, he is humble, he supports a lot of people. I like his behavior. Here it’s the same… There will be those who associate with one boxer, and others with another.
“I find it funny to see people bragging: ‘I’m the best’
— Do you consider yourself the best light heavyweight boxer?
– I can never say that I am the best. I know I can achieve great results and be one of the best. But I can’t say which one is better. Right now, I can be the best, and in a minute, someone else. You can’t always be at the top of your game, you’re in shape for a specific date. And what difference does it make… You just have to love and respect yourself, believe in yourself. I believe I can rightfully occupy the top spot in the light heavyweight division. But it’s not that important how I feel – the best or not.
— You answer very modestly. We recorded an interview before your fight with Lyndon Arthur, and in it you explained why you don’t include yourself in the top 5, regardless of weight categories. Although in many authoritative ratings you are among the top five.
“It’s kind of funny to me to look at people who start bragging, ‘I’m the best, I’m this, I’m that.’ I look at those things differently. Then I named five boxers in according to their achievements. God willing, I will get my belts back, I will have exploits, then I will be able to operate… So you ask me: “Do you consider yourself the best? I will answer: “According to such or such statistic, yes, I think it’s the best.” Well, I wrote myself into the history of Russian boxing, I was determined to be the best at the end of 2022. In general, I have it said and I forgot. What’s the point of talking about that? So it’s not even a question of modesty, but of intelligence.
— What is your general attitude towards Artur Beterbiev? And how would you act with him in a duel?
“I have the same attitude towards him as I do towards many athletes. I respect him as an athlete. He really did a lot. I respected him when I was in the national team. I observed him like an older comrade. He was the leader of the team. He did a lot for Russian boxing. This is how it turned out that we were rivals. And I must respect him as a rival, and nothing more. What must I do to emerge victorious in the ring?…I must be myself. I must have a good camp. A lot of things can happen in the ring, so you need to minimize the risks. And for this you need to train correctly, develop the right tactics and choose the right sparring partners. You must be focused throughout the fight.
“I’M HAPPY FOR PEOPLE LIKE NGANNU”
— Well, at the end of our next conversation, I would like to ask a question that does not concern your meeting with Beterbiev. In early January, it was announced that on March 8 in Saudi Arabia, former WBA, IBF and WBO heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua would meet with former UFC belt holder Francis Ngannou. What is your attitude towards the Ngannou phenomenon? Do you think Joshua will end the MMA fighter fairy tale in boxing?
“I’m happy for people like Ngannou. He came out of poverty. He approached the fight with Tyson Fury responsibly. If Fury, apparently, did not stand out for this, then Ngannou approached it with all seriousness. He won the right to box Joshua. But now the question is different… Joshua looked at what Ngannou is capable of and what a real boxing champion is capable of if he does not approach the fight seriously. Character-wise, I think Joshua is not the same person as Fury. He is more serious. It seems to me that from now on the fight will no longer be as equal as it was in Fury’s case. No offense to Francis Ngannou, but that’s my opinion. I respect him as an athlete, a fighter, a boxer who undertook such a fight. But Joshua is a slightly different person.
— Have you already been invited to Saudi Arabia for this tournament or, perhaps, for the fight between Alexander Usik and Tyson Fury, which will take place on February 17?
– We weren’t invited.
– But this cannot be excluded?
— An invitation as a guest cannot be excluded. I’m not sure about the participation (laughs).
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.
