This is Rummy’s Corner.
Coming up on June 1st, from the Kingdom Arena
in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, WBA super duper light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol will square off
against the unified IBF/WBC/WBO and lineal world light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev.
This battle of undefeated light heavyweight champions is long overdue. Beterbiev won his
first championship all the way back in November 2017, and Bivol got his major
championship back in October 2019 when he was promoted from the minor regular WBA trinket to
the so-called super belt. So by the time these two finally square off in June, it will have
been more than 4 and a half years since these two have both reigned as champions at 175.
Thankfully it’s finally coming together, and this one has historical significance, too. The winner
of this bout will produce the first undisputed world light heavyweight champion during the
modern 4-belt era, and technically speaking, it will produce the first undisputed world light
heavyweight champion since Roy Jones Jr last held all the major belts back in 2002. But in reality,
it’s actually the first undisputed world light heavyweight champion since Michael Spinks last
held that distinction all the way back in 1985. Great Scott! The distinction here being that,
in addition to holding every major belt of his day, Spinks also held a valid claim to
the lineal championship. Roy didn’t, as he never faced or beat the lineal light
heavyweight champion Dariusz Michalzcewski. And the Michaczewski lineage is the one that followed
down the line to Beterbiev today. So the winner of this bout will produce the first truly undisputed
world light heavyweight champion in 39 years, and I, for one, am extremely fired-up!
Beterbiev is a perfect 20-0 with all 20 wins impressively coming inside the distance. Bivol
is a perfect 22-0 with 11 of those wins coming inside the distance. Those records reflect the
two general views going into this one, that either Beterbiev stops him inside the distance, or Bivol
outboxes Beterbiev over the 12 round distance. Although a 3rd likely scenario might be that
Beterbiev gets his power shots in enough to drop Bivol and make him reluctant, where he survives
until the end and Artur wins a decision. I’ll be honest here. For the longest time
I have believed that Bivol would win this fight if it ever came together. And as a general rule,
now that the fight is actually coming together, I generally tend to favor the better all around
boxer, which is clearly Bivol in this instance. Beyond that, Bivol is 33 years old and appears
to be at his peak, whereas Beterbiev is 39. The age difference here, combined with the fact that
I usually tend to favor the boxer over the big puncher - this one feels like a no-brainer here.
All signs seemingly point to Bivol, and to be sure, Bivol is a methodical smooth
operator who has an incredible understanding of range to go along with his superb skill set,
his sublime defense, his top notch ring smarts, and his all around stamina and athleticism.
In his most recent bout, Bivol thoroughly outboxed Lyndon Arthur on the boxing Day
of Reckoning. Bivol scored a knock down and was ultimately awarded a unanimous decision victory,
which wound up being a literal shutout with all 3 judges scoring the bout 120-107 in favor of Bivol.
Bivol has now made 6 consecutive defenses of his WBA super duper title, and he has beaten some very
good boxers along the way, and his most notable win remains his unanimous decision victory against
Canelo Alvarez 2 years ago. On the other hand Beterbiev’s most recent bout came against Callum
Smith back in January, and he too has beaten some damn good boxers along the
way. His most notable win to date remains his 2019 victory against Oleksandr Gvozdyk,
and that was the win that earned him a valid claim to the lineal world light heavyweight crown.
Like I said, I have long favored Bivol in this match-up for many years when it was merely a
hypothetical, and ordinarily, the way I try and evaluate match-ups where you have an exceptional
all around boxer going up against a power punching menace, I’m inclined to
favor the better pure boxer. And given the fact Beterbiev is 6 years older and approaching 40,
my gut is telling me to pick Bivol here. But the thing of it is, the closer this fight gets,
and knowing full well that Bivol is indeed a very special talent - the fact remains that
Beterbiev is also a very special talent. He is NOT just some power punching terror who simply
overwhelms his foes through brute strength and power. The fact of the matter is, that
Beterbiev is a very intelligent boxer in his own right, and he is very sensible in his approach.
Beterbiev isn’t some free swinging powerhouse who starts wildly swinging for the fences. No,
no, no - quite the contrary. Beterbiev is very methodical in his approach and he is exceptionally
clever when it comes to setting up his power shots, and systematically and patiently breaking
an opponent down, both mentally and physically, without overextending or becoming reckless.
That being said, while it is obvious that Bivol has never faced a menacing force with the
explosive firepower of Beterbiev, it is probably true that Beterbiev has never faced a pure boxer
as talented and defensively sound as Bivol. He has an impeccable defensive guard with an incredible
ability to parry, deflect, and block incoming fire, and that guard is not only effective in
the realm of blocking mechanics, but Bivol’s guard has also proven to be mighty durable,
where he can absorb a real beating on his arms and shoulders, while still having an ample
output with a high activity rate. Bivol also has tremendous footwork to go along with his masterful
understanding of range, and this further enables to slip, dodge, and avoid punches altogether.
At the end of the day, I believe that Bivol is good enough to neutralize much of Beterbiev’s
offense, and he is certainly good enough to selectively launch some offense of his own. But I
am not so sure that he’s good enough to completely deter Beterbiev and avoid his power. His defensive
guard is incredibly effective, and against a guy like Canelo, his guard proved durable. And Canelo
can hit, he’s certainly got some power, especially at 168, but he did prove he could bang when he
beat Kovalev in his only other fight at 175. But if Beterbiev is methodical and systematic and true
to form, my feeling is those power punches on the guard will eventually take a greater toll,
and I’d be pretty surprised if a lot of head and especially body shots don’t find the mark, because
Beterbiev is so good at setting up his shots where he can often create his own openings.
A lot of people are expecting a stoppage victory for Beterbiev,
and most of the rest are expecting a points win for Bivol. But for my official prediction,
however, I am going with that third possibility. I believe Beterbiev will win a unanimous decision
in this one, where I think he may drop Bivol a couple of times along the way,
and I think he will inflict enough damage that he throws Bivol off his game to the point that
he looks to avoid engagement, and bide his time in survival mode in hopes that Beterbiev tires
later in the contest. And I do not believe Beterbiev will tire, because he tends to pace
himself exceptionally well. I do believe Bivol will have his moments, and perhaps even jump out
to an early lead before the incoming punishment forces him to become more reluctant to fight,
and more reliant on using his feet to steer himself out of harm’s way. But I think Bivol
is resourceful enough and talented enough that he will be the first man to last the distance
with Beterbiev in the professional ranks. So I like Artur Beterbiev by a 12 round decision,
but as always, what the hell do I know? I ain’t exactly Quasimodo over here. But I am extremely
fired-up for this fight, and I’m thrilled that it’s finally come together. Best of luck to both
Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. I’m fired-up! So who do you think will win the upcoming match
for undisputed light heavyweight supremacy between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol? Please share
your thoughts in the comment section. Thank you very much for watching everyone,
I hope you enjoyed, and have a wonderful night. This is Rummy’s Corner.
You know Quasimodo predicted all this.