Four Crown Showdown: Beterbiev v Bivol Preview And Prediction

It’s a historic showdown between undefeated titans as WBC, WBO, and IBF champion Artur Beterbiev battles WBA titleholder Dmitry Bivol to crown an undisputed light heavyweight king in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night (Sunday morning SA time, writes Quintin van Jaarsveld.

00:15 AM Sunday SA time

Artur Beterbiev (2.15) v Dmitry Bivol (1.68) (Undisputed World Light Heavyweight Championship)

It’s one of the most anticipated fights of the year and one of the most significant in decades. For the first time in the modern four-belt era, two men will meet for the undisputed 175-pound championship.

It’s an epic dance of fire and ice pitting the destructive power of Beterbiev against the laser-like precision of Bivol. It’s a knockout artist unlike any other against a ring general par excellence in a historic battle scheduled for 12 rounds at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena.

The dream fight was originally scheduled to take place in June, however, Beterbiev suffered a ruptured meniscus a month before the bout and underwent knee surgery, forcing a postponement.

Not one to waste a training camp, Bivol fought Malik Zinad on the same date as the intended Beterbiev bout and scored a sixth-round TKO victory, his only stoppage win in his past 10 fights.

Beterbiev, who’s unbeaten at 20-0, is boxing’s only champion with a 100% knockout ratio.

The Dagestani destroyer, who has held at least one light heavyweight title since November 2017, unified his three belts with a second-round TKO victory over Joe Smith Jr. in June 2022 and has made two successful defences.

He stopped Anthony Yarde in the eighth at the beginning of last year and most recently stopped Callum Smith in the seventh in January. 

A natural-born killer, he’s not just a wrecking machine who overwhelms opponents with brute force and power. He’s not reckless but rather workmanlike in setting up power punches and systematically breaking down his opponents, both physically and mentally.

The WBA champion since 2016, Bivol is a perfect 23-0 with 12 knockouts.

A sweet science savant, the Russian is one of the brightest minds in boxing and one of just two men who hold a victory over all-time great Canelo Alvarez, which came in May 2022.

He has since beaten Gilberto Martinez and Lyndon Arthur on points before the aforementioned triumph over Zinad, which snapped his decision streak.

He has technically sound and smooth offence, fluid footwork, a superb defensive guard and an exceptionally high fight IQ, which enables him to control the geography of the ring with a masterful mix of timing, positioning and accuracy.

As I alluded to above, Beterbiev tends to break most fighters. Bivol, however, is not like most fighters. He’s incredibly calm in the cauldron and is skilled and crafty enough to neutralise Beterbiev’s offence and limit the damage he endures.

It’s still a tight fight to call, but where it was 50-50 earlier in the year, it’s now 60-40 in Bivol’s favour considering Beterbiev is 39 and coming off knee surgery.

Therefore, in a bout with two prevailing possible outcomes – Beterbiev by knockout or Bivol by decision – we should see the 33-year-old Bivol outmanoeuvre and outpoint his foe en route to becoming the undisputed champion. 

Prediction: Bivol by decision.

Best Bet: Bivol by decision at 2.15.

Alternative Bet: Bivol at 1.68.