WBA light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol has looked ahead to his potential undisputed title showdown against unified title-holder Artur Beterbiev, comparing the proposed contest to the time he faced pound-for-pound superstar Canelo Alvarez.
Bivol outpointed Canelo back in 2022 in a successful defence of his 175lb title, winning the contest by just one-round despite seeming comfortable throughout.
Ever since, the Russian has been linked to a mouthwatering battle with Artur Beterbiev, who is the only champion in the sport with a 100% knockout ratio, stopping all twenty of his opponents since turning professional.
After initial complications in making the fight due to the WBC’s stance on Russian athletes, it seems that interest from Saudi Arabia has proven to be enough to manufacture the hotly-anticipated contest, and one of 2024’s must-see bouts appears set to be delivered.
In an interview with Matchroom, Bivol compared Beterbiev to Canelo and admitted that this will be his toughest test to date, but remained hopeful that his mastering of traditional boxing skills will be enough to defeat his hard-hitting rival.
“Yeah, to be honest I believe that it will be my hardest test, why? Because he is stronger, I know that he is physically stronger than Canelo and he has good technique too.
“Many people talk about his power but they forget about his technique because his power is so much better than his technique, but he still has good technique.
“I like smart boxing and I like to believe that I am showing this kind of boxing to the people. It should be better than power or just speed, I would hope that the skills should win and I hope that I have enough skills to win this fight.”
Fans around the globe are now expectant of yet another undisputed title contest, and this could be the one to outshine them all, with Riyadh set to stage the historic clash this summer.