Artur Beterbiev Ready to Take Care of Business

Artur Beterbiev says he’s done the “main work” to prepare for his fight against Dmitry Bivol, and he’s ready to take care of business against him on Saturday night in Riyadh. IBF, WBC, and WBO light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) is ready to knock chips off WBA belt-holder Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) in their clash at the Kingdom Arena.

(Photo credit: Leigh Dawney/Queensberry Promotions)

During today’s workout in front of the media, the silent assassin Beterbiev showed off his unusual way of doing pushups, bending his wrists while doing them, which looked painful. Beterbiev’s wrists are so powerful that he can bend them while doing pushups.

Interestingly, the 39-year-old Beterbiev looks the same age as the 33-year-old Bivol and the only thing that indicates that he’s older is the injuries that he’s had recently. Beterbiev is coming off a knee injury that required surgery, and there are questions about whether he’s 100%.

In Beterbiev’s workout today, he didn’t show much movement, which could hint that he’s not as healthy as he looks. Either way, Bivol will test Beterbiev’s knee strength. He’ll use a lot of movement and possibly lean on him during the clinch.

“Anytime you get in with Beterbiev, it’s not easy. The guy is a nightmare. He’s a boogeyman,” said Teddy Atlas to Queensberry about Artur Beterbiev. “The worst mistake you can make about Beterbiev is to think he’s just a good puncher. He’s much more than that.

“Bivol is the much more polished guy. He controls range, has quick hands, and puts his punches together.

“He can fight with you. He can keep you at the end of his jab and touch you up. He can get angles, and he can create traps. He can do all those things,” Atlas continued about Bivol. “The other guy [Beterbiev] is a seek & destroy guy, but it’s almost not fair to say what I just said.”

Bivol is a lot more polished than Beterbiev and fights a lot like a younger version of Wladimir Klitschko. His style is very similar to how Wladimir fought in his 20s before he teamed up with Emanuel Steward and became a guy who clinched a lot.

“He can do it with the hard jab, he can give you a little feint and keep you off balance,” said Atlas about Beterbiev. “He does a little move that I don’t think people know. If he noticed your feet aren’t set, bop. He’ll jump in with a jab.

“I wouldn’t advise any of you in the ring to jump in with a jab because you can get caught on the way in, but he’s smart. He sees the guy’s feet are going out. This way, he closes the gap fast,” said Atlas.

Beterbiev can use his jumping in style with his jab because he’s got a great chin and can take the shots from his opponents when they catch in mid-leap. A lot of fighters can’t get away with fighting that way because their punch resistance won’t let them.

“People wonder, ‘How did he get on me so fast?’ That’s how he got on you. He does little subtle things that are more than a caveman who just brings a club,” said Atlas. “He’s a lot more than that, but the burden is going to be on him to close the gap a little bit. Bivol can be very comfortable owning the outside.

“Beterbiev, at some point, will need to close the gap. When you try to close the gap on a good counter-puncher who knows what he’s doing and knows how to control range. It’s like going to a bad neighborhood. You can get mugged,” said Atlas.