Father Time does not appear to be in Artur Beterbiev’s dialogue, as the 39-year-old continues to prolong his twilight years with awe-inspiring performances.
Typically, as a fighter reaches the end of their career – once their reflexes, speed, and timing begins to diminish – their power is the last thing to go.
For Artur Beterbiev, then, there could be several more years at the top level of his sport, with the pulverizing puncher proving that he remains at the peak of his powers.
But still, while a rematch with Dmitry Bivol is certainly on the cards, there are a few more intriguing matchups that the Russian could consider too.
Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2
Beterbiev showed tremendous resolve to produce a relentless surge in the championship rounds of his fight against Bivol on Saturday.
In doing so, he proved that, despite his age and recent knee injury, he is still an elite, pound-for-pound operator.
And yet, with several members of the boxing fraternity, including Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn, slamming the scorecards for Beterbiev’s majority decision win, one suspects that a more conclusive ending is needed.
So now, with boxing power broker Turki Alalshikh expressing a desire to make the rematch happen, we will hopefully see the two highly skilled light heavyweights collide once again next year.
Artur Beterbiev vs David Benavidez
Now this, without a shadow of doubt, is one of the most mouthwatering matchups in boxing.
With David Benavidez now campaigning at 175 lbs, he would surely make for the perfect dance partner against Beterbiev, an equally devastating knockout artist.
The 27-year-old is set to face David Morrell early next year, in what should be an incredibly difficult assignment against a formidable contender.
Nevertheless, should he get past his next opponent, Benavidez would surely welcome a career-defining dustup against Beterbiev.
Artur Beterbiev vs Jai Opetaia
The natural progression for Beterbiev, at this late stage in his career, would be to move up to cruiserweight.
It is no secret that the undisputed king is a monster at light heavyweight – you only have to take one look at his chiseled, muscle-bound physique to appreciate how difficult the weight cut must be.
And so, if he were to move up to the 200 lb division, then a clash with IBF champion Jai Opetaia would certainly make perfect sense.
With both remaining unbeaten as professionals, too, it would not only deliver an intriguing clash of styles, but also provide an interesting narrative to go alongside the fight.