Artur Beterbiev faces his toughest test as Dmitry Bivol, the only man to make it to the final bell against Beterbiev, is seeking revenge on February 22nd.
Artur Beterbiev‘s last outing saw him win the undisputed light-heavyweight crown, after taking Dmitry Bivol‘s IBO title.
The fight, however, also marked the end of Beterbiev’s 20-fight-long knockout streak, with Bivol becoming the first and only man to go all twelve rounds against Beterbiev, and then to only narrowly lose on the scorecards.
The rematch will see Bivol aiming to right his wrongs and Beterbiev aiming to imprint his name in history once and for all.
At the age of forty, though, Beterbiev is in the twilight of his career and likely has only a few fights left.
There is one fight that the Russian claims he won’t entertain.
Artur Beterbiev says he will never fight Canelo Alvarez
Canelo Alvarez, 62-2-2, has lost only to two men – Floyd Mayweather and Dmitry Bivol.
In 2022, on the back of a win over Caleb Plant, Canelo dared to be great, moving up to light-heavyweight to fight for Bivol’s title.
Canelo had previously made a successful visit to the division in 2019, when he defeated Sergey Kovalev for his WBO light-heavyweight title.
Canelo lost the fight, though has spoken of a rematch with Bivol, or, if Beterbiev wins, a potential clash with the knockout-artist for all the belts.
Beterbiev has stated in no uncertain terms he would not fight Canelo unless he is mandated to do so: “If like obligation, yeah I do. But like, no, for choosing, no.”
He said: “When he was champion in my weight category, that time I wanted to fight with him because I needed the belt, but now, no.”
The time Artur Beterbiev defeated Oleksandr Usyk
Beterbiev boasts an extremely impressive amateur pedigree, with hundreds of bouts, and wins over Michael Hunter, Oleksandr Gvozdyk (who he has also beaten in the pros), Sergey Kovalev and Yuniel Dorticos.
Though he might not fight Canelo, one star Beterbiev did beat in the amateurs is Oleksandr Usyk.
The power-punching Russian fought Usyk a total of three times in his amateur career, falling short on two occasions, with the latest being in the 2012 Olympics quarter-finals. Usyk went on to win the gold medal.
He also lost to Usyk in the 2011 AIBA World Championships quarter-finals. Usyk went on to win gold here also.
The one time Beterbiev defeated Usyk was in their first encounter in 2007 at the Amber Gloves event.
Now two divisions apart, it seems the pair will never cross paths in the professionals, and Beterbiev will have to settle for one win out of three.
Beterbiev and Bivol will face off for their much-anticipated rematch on February 22nd.
Also on the undercard is Hamzah Sheeraz who faces Carlos Adames for his first world title. Sheeraz admitted he won’t pray to beat Adames, as he believes that gives him an ‘unfair advantage’.
Callum Smith takes on Joshua Buatsi, though Smith admits George Groves is tougher than Buatsi, as he names his three hardest opponents.
Joseph Parker, who has opened up about depression, makes his bid to become a two-time heavyweight champion against Daniel Dubois, and Zhilei Zhang, who almost died after the Jerry Forrest fight, will face Agit Kabayel, all on the most stacked card in boxing history.