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Steve Wellings (Online Editor)
I’ve been back and forth on this one ever since it appeared on the radar as a possibility. Bivol is a great mover and a hard man to get the better of despite his simple style. Sparring partners attest to this, as well as in-ring evidence. Bivol’s judgement of distance and ability to dictate the range are outstanding features.
Beterbiev, however, can drag anyone into a fight. The latter stages of this fight will be telling. Beterbiev has succeeded in breaking down good fighters in the final third of contests. It’s hard to conceive of Bivol making it through the full 12 rounds without getting tagged by something hard.
As much as I’ve leant towards Bivol of late, I’m swinging back around to Beterbiev notching KO number 21. All dependent on his old, weather-beaten frame holding together one last time versus the best opponent he’s faced as a pro.
Daniel Greig (Video Editor)
I truly believe this is the best fight in boxing at the moment, hands down. And even though it’s a 50/50 fight, I wouldn’t be surprised if we see a one-sided performance from either of these men, similar to Spence vs Crawford.
However, if Bivol is to win the fight he needs to gain the respect of Beterbiev early and I just don’t see that happening. I think we’ve seen some performances from Bivol where he switches off and you just can’t do that against a ferocious pressure fighter like Beterbiev. Furthermore, while we saw Bivol get a stoppage last time out against Zinad, he took some shots in the opening round that he simply can’t afford to take against Beterbiev.
I can see Beterbiev slowly breaking Bivol down and stopping him in the later rounds. That being said, this fight can go any which way imaginable.
Jordan Pollock (Head of Content)
Having initially had a hunch that Bivol would claim the crown with a safety-first points victory, I’ve now had my arm twisted into a Beterbiev KO.
The idea of a “safety-first points victory” doesn’t really seem realistic when considering the man who stands in the opposite corner is the skilled, resilient and masterful Artur Beterbiev – not to mention his 100% KO punching power.
Beterbiev round 10.
Declan Taylor (Senior Reporter)
I’m picking Bivol to win on points. It’s one of those predictions where you could look extremely, extremely stupid if Beterbiev just walks through him.
If you’re trying to find someone to beat Beterbiev in terms of what attributes you want someone to have to give you a chance of nullifying him and making it through 12 rounds without getting knocked out, basically. You’d look at Bivol’s skillset and go, that’s the man I want.
Obviously we’ve seen what he can do, his control of distance, not a massive puncher, which is a bit of a concern. If Beterbiev’s got no respect for his power, he’s just going to walk through it. But we know how well schooled he is, how good he is at keeping things at range when he needs to, boxing to orders, staying switched on.
I think Beterbiev at 39 with two pretty serious injuries in the last 12 months suggests he’s a fading force, which is weird to say at 20-0 and 20 knockouts. Obviously if he gets on top of Bivol he’s going to knock him out.
If there’s one person who’s got the style to be able to just nullify and just make it through 12 rounds, I think it’s Bivol. If Bivol does that, I feel like it’s in Bivol’s interest to make this a stinker. That’s his best chance of winning. If this turns into a firefight, he’s in trouble.
Ben Farooqi (Head of Digital)
We’ve been spoiled with great fights and undisputed contests of late and this one has the potential to be among the best of the bunch. It’s yet another fight boxing fans have been waiting to see for years and I’m really looking forward to Saturday night.
In terms of who I think will win, I’ve gone back and forth over the years since the fight was first heavily discussed. Initially, I was heavily in favour of Beterbiev because of how he steamrolled through his opposition in the pro ranks.
However, as Bivol began to notch up some significant wins, I was impressed by his movement, his ring IQ, how he remains composed and doesn’t get drawn away from his gameplan, or into making too many costly mistakes. So, I switched to Bivol and remained there for a time.
Yet as the fight has drawn closer I’ve slipped back into thinking Beterbiev will take it. When you consider his amateur pedigree, how he has dismantled some of the top operators at 175lbs in brutal fashion and his explosive power — gun to my head — I’m picking Beterbiev.
I expect Bivol to have some early success in the fight, but as they move into the mid-to-late rounds I think Beterbiev’s power will be the deciding factor and expect him to extend his knockout streak to 21 fights.
Shaun Brown (Reporter)
Big fights are at their best when you can make a strong argument for both boxers to win. And that is the case when it comes to Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol.
Bivol is potentially a nightmare stylistically for Beterbiev and because of that I don’t hold out hope that this will be a great fight. I do think Bivol is going to out-box Beterbiev early on because he has to. He can’t allow him a fast start and he can’t sit on the ropes for longer than a few seconds.
I can see Bivol establishing a lead but it will prove worthless because it’s impossible to avoid being hit by Beterbiev for 36 minutes. Let’s not forget Beterbiev doesn’t have to hit you hard to hurt you. He’s that powerful.
I think Beterbiev stops Bivol in round 10. Whatever he lands will take its toll in the second half of the contest and at some point Bivol will weaken and at that stage the writing will be on the wall because Beterbiev is one of the best finishers in boxing.
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