Why Bivol is going to be Beterbiev's hardest fight.

I keep seeing people say Beterbiev is going to knock him out in less than 6 rounds. I think that's crazy. Bivol is not to be underestimated in this fight. He's probably the best pure boxer in the game.

He's different from most boxers and that's what makes him so difficult to fight.

Here's why he has the tools to beat Beterbiev.

- He can throw punches going backwards. Most traditional boxers goes into a defensive stance while moving backwards to get out of range. Bivol throws punches in combination while moving backwards, stopping the attacker at their tracks. He's one of very few fighters who can do this. When an aggressive fighter is getting countered by the backward moving fighter, they're more likely to give up chase and reset before moving forward again. No one has been able to consistently force Bivol to go backwards, not Canelo, Ramirez, Pascal or Smith.

- He throws in combination. Beterbiev opponents usually throw one punch at a time, making easy for Beterbiev to counter them. Bivol can throw in combination while moving forward and backwards, making it hard to counter him. They're straight fast shots, so there is little room to counter. when Gvozdyk was throwing combos early (much slower ones), he was throwing Beterbiev off of his game. Bivol has the ability to do this all night long.

- Stance & distance control. Bivol is arguably the best practitioner of the pendulum step. Always ready to defend and always ready to strike. He can switch between defense and offense in an instant, making it hard to push him backwards. He can get out of range quickly, but also can counter an aggressive fighter with 3-4 punch combos. You need incredible footwork to do this and Bivol has it.

- Defense and footwork. Bivol is one of the most defensively responsible fighters in boxing. He always keeps his hands up and aware of the distance between him and his opponent. A lot of Beterbiev opponents give him openings by staying on the ropes or not keeping their hands up. In the case of Gvozdyk, his weird head movement got him in trouble because he leaned into Beterbeiv's shots. Bivol will be moving, keeping his head out of range, countering and keeping his hands up.

- He's relaxed in the ring. He doesn't easily get flustered by pressure. Yarde fought scared. Gvozdyk fought scared. Smith fought scared. They all started moving the moment the bell sounded. They make little effort to push Beterbiev backwards. Bivol is going to keep the center ring and use his combinations to stop Beterbive's forward momentum and keep the fight off of the ropes. Bivol showed how relaxed he was in the Canelo fight and he's capable of doing it in the Beterbiev fight.

In short, Bivol has all the skills to beat Beterbeiv. Yes, Beterbeiv is a great fighter, but I think Bivol has the right combination of skills to befuddle him for most of the fight before heading toward a close UD.

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Gvozdyk's problem was that his footwork was not fast enough. He was throwing weak pitty pat punches and stayed in punching range for too long. That allow Beterbiev to start countering him and break him down.

Browne's problem was him languishing along the ropes too much and allow Beterbeiv to work. When he was moving backwards, he was just moving backwards with earmuffs while Beterbeiv walked him down. I know he's not that type of boxer, but he didn't throw much when Beterbeiv was pushing him back. Once he's on the ropes, Beterbeiv just unloaded on him.

You need to counterpunch when Beterbiev is moving forward. If you don't, it's only a matter of time before he catches up and start bullying you. I know it's easier said than done, but that's how the cookie crumbles. Bivol's best chance is fight back with combos and not let Beterbiev have constant forward momentum.

 

There wasn't a path to undisputed until 2022. Beterbeiv fought Gvozdyk for unification in October 2019. Then the pandemic happened which slowed boxing to a crawl. After that, Beterbiev had a mandatory defense against Browne in 2021, then a unification with Joe Smith (WBO) in 2022.

Meanwhile, Bivol fought Canelo in May 2022 and took him to school. That resounding victory put Bivol on the map and there were calls for Bivol to unify with Beterbiev. Bivol was expected to have a rematch with Canelo, but it never materialized.

It was in 2022 when Beterbiev indicated he wanted to become undisputed. After that, he had 2 mandatories in Yarde & Callum Smith. Bivol had a mandatory against Ramirez.

In May 2023, Mauricio Sulaiman and the We Be Crooks (WBC) organization decided to virtue signal like idiots and not sanction Russian fighters for unification. This put a stop to negotiations until late 2023 after Bivol fought Lyndon Arthur. Bivol & Beterbiev met for the first time and started negotiations.

They were so close to fighting in June until Beterbiev got injured, so Bivol fought Zinad instead. That's where we are today, waiting for these 2 boxing titans to clash.