He's got the talent but he lacks experience. 1 mistake in the pros, you get knocked out. Vs a devastating boxer/puncher like Kovalev will be a harsh lesson in the pro ranks for Artur
Theres plenty of top amateurs who ahve bombed. In the past few weeks Damien Hooper and Tom Stalker, both top class amateurs were beaten by non-desript competition. Theres plenty of Olympic medallists who washed out too. Give the guy some time, dont throw him in against the #1 guy in his 7th fight!
What have Kovalev and Beterbiev ever done or not done that would lead people to suspect that they're going to duck anyone 175? Beterbiev fought Cloud in his sixth fight for Christ sake (he would've fought him in his first or second fight had he been allowed to) and Kovalev is clearly willing to fight anyone and everyone at 175. Kovalev went over into hostile territory in Cleverly's backyard to win his title and he did everything in his power to try and tempt Stevenson into a ring with him, including fighting on one of his undercards in his backyard in Quebec as part of a double header that was supposed to be a prelude to a fight between the pair of them. He even called him out in front of his home crowd during his post-fight interview. That fight was only ever going to take place in Stevenson's backyard, Kovalev knew that but he had zero qualms about going over there. He even walked right up to Stevenson and told him to his face that he wanted to fight him. John David Jackson said Stevenson's head dropped and he could barely make eye contact with Sergey when he did that and Kenny Ellis who was also there said Stevenson looked like he'd seen a ghost. Now granted they're part of Kovalev's team, but Stevenson's subsequent actions suggest that there might be more than a grain of truth to that. [YT]8fmOxoNjA5c[/YT] Kovalev and Beterbiev won't have any problems fighting each other when the time comes. They both want the fight.
BTW, Here's an interview with Beterbiev's next opponent if anyone's interested. 'Artur Beterbiev doesn’t scare me, says his next opponent Jeff Page Jnr: JEFF PAGE JNR, 24, of Kansas is the next foe to face the powerful fists of unbeaten Russian terror Artur Beterbiev. But Page, 15-0(10) does not come across as at all fazed ahead of this, the biggest fight of his fledgling 20-month pro career, and he’s expecting to score the upset in Canada on December 19th. Q: People seem very impressed with Beterbiev and his power, especially after he blew away Tavoris Cloud (above). How much have you seen of Beterbiev and how impressed are you? Jeff Page Junior: “I think he’s a great fighter, with great power. It was a great win for him against Cloud, but to me, Tavoris Cloud didn’t really look like he wanted to be in there for anything but a payday. That is not the case with me. I’m coming to win and I fully expect to get the victory. I have punching power myself, I’m 15-0 with 13 knockouts (Boxrec have Page at 15-0 with ten KO’s). I’ve seen all of Beterbiev’s pro fights and some of his amateur fights. He had a great career as an amateur, but I could have done all the things he did as an amateur, but I just chose to go to college instead, and play college football. And now we’re meeting up as pros.” Q: What was your amateur record, and how would you describe your fighting style today? J.P: “I had around 100 fights. My record was 88 and 11 or 90 and 11, something like that. I’m fast and explosive. I’m able to adapt to any style though. I can walk a guy down if he runs, which is what Beterbiev does, and I can use my foot speed and I can use angles. I can do it all.” Q: Will this be your first fight in Canada and are you excited or nervous? J.P: “This will be my first fight out of the country. I’m real excited. I’m not nervous, the fight is still too far away for that. But when I beat this guy, all the doors will open for me. My family and me, we’re hoping for the win and we’re fully expecting the win and then for big things to happen. That’s what we train for, the big fights. I’m always in shape and I want the big fights; that’s why we took this fight. I’ve only been a pro for 20-months and I’ve had 15 pro fights. This is it for me [boxing], it’s what I do and it’s fulltime.” Q: Beterbiev has yet to go past the fourth-round and he seems to always look for the big KO. How will you fight him? J.P: “I’ll move and I’ll box. But make mo mistake, I won’t run from him, no way! I’m not afraid to trade with him and I know I’ll be in shape for ten rounds; even though I train for knockouts. This is a great opportunity for me, even though the NABA belt will not be on the line now, so they tell me. That’s kind of disappointing but it’s still a great opportunity for me and for my family. It will be great if I can get him into the deep waters, of the second half of the fight, where he’s not comfortable and used to going. I know he’ll be in shape, but it’s totally different in a fight when you’re in the later rounds and the other guy’s still coming. He’s used to getting quick knockouts, but let’s see how he reacts in the second half of the fight when I’m still coming forward and he’s thinking, ‘what the hell!’” Q: You come from a boxing family? J.P: “My uncle is my trainer and my Dad is my manager. My 21-year-old brother just went pro. I put the gloves on at age 8 and I loved it from the day my uncle took me to the gym. I like watching guys like Chris Algieri, a great boxer who moves well. And I like watching Gennady Golovkin. I will be working with Golovkin’s trainer Abel Sanchez for this fight. I’m heading out to Big Bear soon. It will be great working with Abel. He’s excited about the fight himself and we’ll sit down and watch tapes of Beterbiev and he’ll teach me things and give me advice. He’ll be my head trainer for this fight. I’m fully confident I’ll get the win and being the underdog doesn’t bother me at all.”
Maybe Beterbiev can read Kovalev like a book and will KO him again. Or possibly Kovalev has polished his skills being trained by John David Jackson and Beterbiev finds the aforementioned book translated into a language he doesn't understand.
Why is NABA belt not on the line? Anyways Beterbiev will KO this guy inside 8. Edit: my reply was to Serge, nice interview! :good
Jeff believes himself superior to Beterbiev and Jeff does not want to show these profesional fights. There are several person is asked to show these fights on facebook and he does not want. I found this video: Terrance Smith Jr and Jeff Page. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HzgRIgT6vEo&feature=youtu.be
In my experience, usually when a pro boxer with limited or no TV exposure says "no, I don't want footage of me circulated to fans!" a red flag goes up that he probably a) has weakness that could be exploited to his detriment and ultimate defeat with the least bit of study and b) would rather fake his way up the rankings and into a payday just by virtue of his record without anybody ever seeing how crap he really is...which of course would kill any intrigue or excitement that his record on paper alone might elicit from gullible event promoters or fans.
No idea. It does seem a bit strange. Yeah, even if Page is good I'll be surprised if he makes it past the halfway mark. :good
I was going by this: It sounded like Page Jr. suppressing video of himself getting out there. (anybody remember the Dib vs. Lacierva fiasco? http://www.boxingforum24.com/showthread.php?p=11331832&highlight=Lacierva#post11331832) Maybe I read it wrong. :conf
Page reckons he could've achieved all that Beterbiev did in the amateurs had he chosen not to go to college. Hmm.. I don't think so, son. He might have done well for himself but he would've had to go a long way to even come close to matching Beterbiev's achievements. This is his amateur CV. Amateur Career 2012 National Golden Gloves (201 lbs.) Defeated Marquis Dacres (PA) - Dec. Defeated Donald Cobb Jr. (CO-NM) - Dec. Lost to Joseph Williams (NY Metro) - Dec. 2008 National Golden Gloves (178 lbs.) 1st round bye Defeated Terrell Gausha (Cle) - Dec. Lost to Michael Faulk (Upper Midwest) - Dec. 2007 Junior National Golden Gloves Champion 2007 Junior Olympics Runner Up