Artur Beterbiev: Behold The Rise Of King Artur Of Khasavyurt The Beast Of Dagestan

I know Beterbiev also fought at HW (which is basically CW in the pros) in the amateurs but I'd be interested in finding out how much he actually weighed in the ring for Cloud and how much he does for tonight's fight. I get the impression he's not quite as heavy on fight night (at least in the Cloud fight) as some think. His face doesn't have that really gaunt or sickly drained look at the weigh in like some fighters who are cutting huge amounts of weight to compete in lower divisions do. Cloud rehydrates to about 190 lbs on fight night and his face looked much more gaunt to me than Beterbiev's did at the weigh in for their fight. I'd be very surprised if Beterbiev weighed in excess of 190 lbs on fight night. I reckon he probably comes in somewhere between 187 and that.

I think he was probably often facing naturally bigger to much bigger men most of the time when he competed at HW in the ams. It's just that he's so strong, durable and hits so hard that he can hold his own even against opponents who are naturally bigger than him. He spars with Oscar Rivas who is a 235-244 sized HW. I remember reading an interview with Marc Ramsay where he said that they have problems finding sparring partners for him because he hits so hard. He said no one wants to spar him. lol. The stuff he does in the gym, sparring, training etc. has made a big impression on those around him. There's a reason why they're fast-tracking him to a world title shot. They've seen what he can do in the gym.

'I posed this question to Russ Anber, a trainer who helps Marc Ramsay with Beterbiev, and has worked in the corners of Sergio Martinez, Roy Jones Jr., and Jean Pascal. He drew on his 36 years in the boxing biz, and was straightforward with his appraisal of the Russian, a two-time Olympian.

"Beterbiev is almost too good to be true," Anber told me of the fighter, who resides with his wife and kids in Montreal. "Technically, he's a complete student of the game, old school. He's university educated, understands biomechanics. His style is strength, imposition, but he's complete. He's as strong as a heavyweight, spars heavyweights here, like Oscar Rivas. He's the kind of guy, he comes into the gym, he doesn't turn the music on, he turns it off. He goes to the body, his infighting is good. And he's beaten Sergey Kovalev in the amateurs twice!"

"This is the most complete boxer I've seen up close," Anber continued. "It's an effin privilege to be with him. His mental approach is that of a spartan. And I mean, he's the sort of guy you'd want your daughter to bring home. It's almost too good to be true."

Yvon Michel:

'How impressed are you with the rapid progress of Artur Beterbiev?

Look, he is really impressive in every aspect of what you dream of for a fighter. He has a personality; he is an intelligent person, he’s a family man. He has strength, power, speed, technique and dedication. The only thing that is missing is experience and we’re working on it. It’s a huge step (facing Cloud), we understand that, but we’ve seen him spar, I’ve had reports from his strength and conditioning coach, his trainer Marc Ramsey, who trains a lot of high performance fighter. Everything is telling me that we have an exceptional fighter on our hands.

Does it give you more confidence knowing he was a top amateur? We’ve seen the likes of Guillermo Rigondeaux and Vasyl Lomachenko make quick progress in the pro ranks. Do you see the same thing for Beterbiev?

Yes, he was an exceptional amateur fighter, he won a gold medal as a light heavyweight, later he was successful as a heavyweight even though he’s a small guy for a heavyweight. He twice went to the Olympic Games and twice lost to the eventual gold medallist. He had a little bit of bad luck but yes, he’s going to follow in their footsteps, he’s at that level. He’s an exceptional athlete who you can go fast with. He’s going from a scheduled six-rounder to a 12-rounder against a veteran who was world champion not that long ago, whose style is as a banger, so it’s a good test for Artur but we are convinced that the world will discover he is for real.


His strength and condition coach:

Andre Kulesza

'One last word that Andre Kulesza. This guy was coach with the greatest athletes in the world. Including Lucian Bute, a beast of training.

"Phfff, it does not compare. That's what I've seen stronger in my life. It is measured scientifically. The recovery time, strength, relaxation. Artur Beterbiev is in a class by itself. "

Marc Ramsay said his stamina is really good too.

“No matter if the fight is short or long, Artur will fight like hell in every round, promised Marc Ramsay, Beterbiev’s trainer. I know that a lot of boxing fans in Canada are worried to see Beterbiev, who has only five pro bouts, face one of the biggest name on the international scene. But not me. I am working every day in the gym with Artur. I know how much this fighter is great and mature. Andre Kulesha, our physical education’s specialist, told me he never worked with a fighter stronger and resistant like Artur. Cloud has no idea how much Berterbiev is good, strong physically and resistant. Trust me, Artur has the stamina to attack from the first to the 12 rounds if it's necessary.”

 

Full fight (French)

[YT]CwiPb8_R0JU[/YT]

 

Thanks. I actually just got back from a visit to the hospital after having chest pains, breathing problems and various other symptoms all week. Luckily I just got back in time to watch the boxing, which I was worrying I was going to miss as I was sitting around in casualty twiddling my thumbs for the 4 or 5 hours I was stuck there. The doctors checked my heart out and everything's fine so it's all good. Beterbiev didn't do me any favours in that regard at the end of the first round though lol.

Everything OK with you? :good

 

Yeah, like I said it's all good. I'm very relieved me ticker's OK.

I've always got my eye out for a pretty nurse or two. Honestly I'm like a hawk when it comes to that shit. I love a pretty nurse. It's the one thing I like about visiting or being stuck in hospitals. lol. But to answer your question. I saw a couple of decent ones but nothing special this time I'm afraid.

They need to pull back the reigns in little with Beterbiev. This is what I was worried about when they put him in with Cloud. He's still very inexperienced as a pro and he's way too reckless with regards to defence and leaves himself open to getting caught with silly shots than he doesn't need to get caught with. He's a superb talent and his handlers just need to let him develop at the right pace so he can maximize his full potential.

Shit Stevenson fight up now. Check back later or in the morning if I'm too tired by the end. :good