Oleksandr Oleksandrovych "The Cat" Usyk vs. Artur Asilbekovich "The Beast" Beterbiev amateur trilogy

These former rivals may not ever share a ring again, on very different trajectories and each wildly successful in their own right as professionals (both are currently undefeated lineal champs, at HW & LHW respectively, and both more than halfway toward fully unifying to become not just lineal but undispited), regardless of Russ Anber hyping up his charge as wanting it - but this absolute wet dream of a boxer versus puncher match-up did in fact happen, and it happened plenty!

They fought thrice over the span of five years, from 2007 until 2012.

Beterbiev took a narrow points victory the first time, over four rounds in a light heavyweight contest at that year's Russia vs. Ukraine meet in Kalingrad. Usyk would avenge the defeat twice over - in the quarterfinals of both the AIBA world championships in 2011 and the London Olympics ten months later - but they were also close affairs, 17-13 coincidentally being the score on both occasions.

Usyk has stated that Beterbiev was his toughest opponent ever. Now, as with any such pronouncements by fighters, we can take it with as big a grain a salt as you feel is proportionate to your trust in his word (remember lots of folks thought Floyd Mayweather Jr. declaiming that DeMarcus Corley was his own toughest opponent was met with incredulous derision by some who felt it was a diss of JLC, while a minority defended it as credibly being his sincerely held opinion) - but it does warrant mentioning that Beterbiev handed Usyk what I believe to be his second knockdown ever, and to date the most recent, late in their rematch with a vicious body shot making the Ukrainian take a delayed-reaction knee.

Usyk vs. Beterbiev I: Kalingrad

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Usyk vs. Beterbiev II: Baku

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Usyk vs. Beterbiev III: Canning Town, East London
https://video-atl3-2.xx.fbcdn.net/v...98q1FF_RuEYAHy8cLle0KXqtqkzT2zA7w&oe=63B87FFF

Btw, you're welcome - that Beterbiev victory took some real digging and web-crawling savvy - you could absolutely scour Google for it and never, ever find it using the Latinized alphabet. Gotta switch it up and enter their names in Cyrillic as your search criteria (У́сик & Бетерби́ев) to have a prayer.

 

Now, should it turn out Anber wasn't just whistling Dixie, and should they get past their next obstacles (Anthony Yarde and Tyson Fury respectively) - how do we feel about this left field grudge match from the amateurs possibly happening in 2023?

 

True but even a few years later at the higher weight Beterbiev was very competitive. It was 2011 when he put Usyk on the canvas.

For me, analyzing them meeting up today in the pros, it's more a matter of Usyk having another decade to refine his skill and widen the gulf between them in that department, than his size. Remember, while he thrives against bigger opponents Usyk has weirdly struggled the most when they're smaller (Korobov, Porter, etc) ...although yes that's ancient history and he's in god mode now.

 

I give Beterbiev more of a puncher's chance vs. Usyk than I give Fury a big gyppo dosser's chance.

 

IDK, people have brought up the knockdown in their second meeting fairly often; you see threads made on it anytime Usyk's haters are riled up and looking for ammunition to say anything derogatory about him (but LOL at thinking a quick knee after taking a fully-loaded wallop from Beterbiev downstairs is any sort of black mark on someone's durability), with some videos even stupidly mislabeled as Usyk being "knocked out", but... to my recollection there's never been a collation of all the footage of their amateur rivalry before now.

 

Sure, but, again - has this, ever?

It doesn't appear so:
https://www.boxingforum24.com/search/69004094/?q=Usyk+Beterbiev&o=date&c[title_only]=1&c[node]=6

Their names have only appeared in thread title together 12 times, a few posting vids or clips of one of or another of their above amateur bouts (usually Baku or London, as far as I know Kalingrad is debuting here as an IB Exclusive™) and one pondering them fighting now in the pros, but - yeah, never an overview of their full rivalry with complete footage of the trilogy.