Artur Beterbiev is officially the king of the light heavyweight division.
The Russian-Canadian joined the likes of Archie Moore, Bob Foster, and Michael Spinks as the greatest light heavyweight of his generation after beating Dmitry Bivol.
His majority decision victory against Bivol wasn’t without controversy, as boxing fans worldwide called for a rematch after slamming the judges’ scorecards, with one scoring 116-112 in favor of Beterbiev.
Eddie Hearn also hit out at the judges, describing the outcome as “sickening” and even called for one of them to be banned.
But now going forward, the next step will be to see who Beterbiev steps into the ring to face next so, with that, let’s look at five potential fights that Artur Beterbiev could take.
- READ MORE: Who is Artur Beterbiev? Meet the heavy-hitting light-heavyweight who will face Dmitry Bivol
Dmitry Bivol rematch
This feels like the most obvious route to take given the post-fight fallout.
Beterbiev didn’t just lose his 100% knockout-to-win ratio, he also came close to losing the fight altogether.
His corner could be heard telling him in the 10th round that he would need to knock out his opponent to seal the win and even though Bivol showed respect in a classy post-fight interview, will no doubt feel aggrieved about the result.
Turki Alalshikh confirmed that he would try and negotiate a rematch between the two after claiming it was “one of the great fights of the last 20 years”, and both fighters also seem to be open to running it back.
David Benavidez/David Morrell Jr
Reports have claimed that the winner of David Benavidez and David Morrell Jr will be in the line to face Beterbiev in 2025.
The victor of this fight will be named as the mandatory challenger for the Beterbiev, who said that he would refuse to talk about the prospect of facing Benavidez or another Mexican star until he had beaten Bivol.
One drawback may be the fact that Premier Boxing Champions’ top-tier stars are yet to feature on a Riyadh Season card, but given what could be on the line, it may pave the way for it to happen.
Canelo Alvarez
Four-weight world champion Canelo Alvarez still has the chance to fight for an undisputed light heavyweight title.
The clamor will be there for a rematch but Turki Alalshikh may have his head turned if Canelo throws his name in the mix.
Canelo would’ve wanted to face Bivol and may still go down that path, but without any belts on the line, that no longer seems as attractive.
Fighting Beterbiev would also really test the Mexican’s credentials. Typically, the Russian-Canadian boxer’s style is something that suits Canelo, but given his ferocious shot power, it could spell danger should he allow the 39-year-old to get the same shots away as he did in Riyadh.
- READ MORE: The 10 greatest Mexican boxers of all time feature Canelo Alvarez and 147 lbs animal at #2
Jai Opetaia
Having conquered the light heavyweight division, becoming the first undisputed champion since Roy Jones in 1999, Beterbiev may have one eye on moving up a division.
Jai Opetaia was hailed for his excellent display against Jack Massey on the Beterbiev vs Bivol undercard and would be a tough test for the 39-year-old should he decide to move up to cruiserweight.
Opetaia is currently waiting to see what happens in the 16 November bout between Chris Billam-Smith and Gilberto Ramirez, where he could fight to become undisputed champion before moving up to heavyweight.
At 29, the Australian has time on his side whereas Beterbiev doesn’t and Opetaia may want to put his focus into conquering multiple divisions as opposed to remaining at cruiserweight, but judging by previous comments, facing Beterbiev may not be entirely out of the question.
Artur Beterbiev chooses to retire
There is of course every chance that Beterbiev chooses to hang the gloves up for good.
It’s been a stellar career and to bow out as an undisputed champion is certainly something nobody could begrudge.
At 39, Beterbiev isn’t exactly going to be around for years to come and maybe that day is going to come sooner than we think.