Dmitry Bivol would be gravely mistaken if he thinks he can whip punches on Arthur Beterbiev the way he did on Canelo Alvarez, warns a member from Beterbiev’s inner circle.
Bivol, the WBA light-heavyweight titlist, and Beterbiev, the WBO, WBC, IBF champion, are expected to vie for the undisputed championship in the summer, in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The bout has been touted by boxing fans as one of the most compelling matchups in the sport.
Neither fighter, both Russian, have any other attractive options at this point, having collectively cleaned out most of the top competitors in the 175-pound division.
John Scully, an assistant coach for Beterbiev, was asked recently to consider that fight, and the former fighter felt there were a few red flags in Bivol’s unanimous decision win over Canelo Alvarez back in 2022, namely that Bivol did not attempt to get the stoppage. Scully feels that attitude will not help him against a bigger, stronger fighter in Beterbiev.
“Bivol is very good,” Scully told FightHype.com. “Skill, style. Beautiful win, but Canelo’s a very small guy and he showed that. …The thing is Bivol had Canelo on the ropes and he wouldn’t pull the trigger necessarily. He didn’t really try and get him out of there.
“With Artur that’s a whole different program. While it’s a great win, taking nothing from that, just saying, Artur and Canelo is a different ball game. Artur is way too big, way too strong. He’s gonna get him on the ropes and slaughter him. Canelo moved up twice and who didn’t he fight? It is what it is.”
“Bivol is going to realize that Artur is not Canelo,” Scully continued. “He’s not a small guy. Bivol is not going to have Artur on the ropes and letting his hands go and Artur’s trying to hide and cover up. It’s a different fight. If people think Artur’s going to win, outbox Artur, I say, OK no problem. But if you base it on the Canelo fight, I think that’s smart business.”
Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs) is coming off a unanimous decision over Lyndon Arthur in December in Riyadh. Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) fought earlier this month, stopping Callum Smith in seven rounds at Centre Videotron in Quebec City, Canada.
Sean Nam is the author of Murder on Federal Street: Tyrone Everett, the Black Mafia, and the Last Golden Age of Philadelphia Boxing.