Artur Beterbiev wins back Yarde brawl - bring on Dmitry Bivol

He does indeed possess a strong boxing foundation. When in camp, they train to go all 12 rounds for every fight. However, from a fan’s standpoint, when unbeaten light heavyweight wrecking machine Artur Beterbiev steps into the ring, it is his crunching, concussive power fans love. And, with 19 KOs in 19 fights, to say he never fails to deliver would be a massive understatement.

WBC/WBO/IBF unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev maintained his 100% knockout ratio this past Saturday night at the OVO Arena, in London, England, by scoring an 8th round stoppage against British challenger Anthony Yarde (23-3, 22 KO’s).

Yarde gave an excellent account of himself and did nothing to hurt his stock on the world stage despite picking up his 2nd loss.

While Team Beterbiev certainly doesn’t rely solely on his power to pull out wins, it is a nice tool to have in the box. At the time of the stoppage, two judges had Yarde winning with scores of 68-65 and 67-66, while one judge had it 67-66 for Beterbiev. If the fight had gone the distance, Beterbiev was going to need a very strong final 3rd.

The fight went as many Beterbiev fights have gone with the challenger, looking strong early, banking some points and rounds. However, it is the relentless pressure that eventually takes its toll on any man facing the champion. He keeps moving forward with a non-stop, counter punch assault to the head and body that eventually adds up and spells the end for the challenger.

Ringside announcers were referring to the back-and-forth brawl as an early candidate for “Fight of the Year”. After the fight, both Beterbiev and Yarde, sporting cuts, red marks, and swelling over their faces, certainly looked like two guys who had been in a fight.

As is the case with boxing, with the paint not even dry on the Yarde win, the inevitable questions of ‘who is next?’ immediately surfaced. And, there is only one fight fans want to see for Beterbiev and that is Dmitry Bivol.

While Beterbiev holds the WBC, WBO and IBF straps, Bivol (21-0, 11 KO’s) has held the WBA title for 7 years. He won the interim WBA light-heavy title in 2016 and made 2 defenses of that title. He won the WBA light heavyweight title in 2017 and is on a 9-fight, title defense run of that crown. With 13 of his 21 professional wins being world title fights, after turning pro on the foundation of an excellent amateur career, Bivol would certainly be Beterbiev’s toughest fight.  

Beterbiev and Bivol are fighters that are driven by legacy. They both want all the belts to claim undisputed status, and that is what should get the fight done. But, with Beterbiev celebrating his 38th birthday while over in England for the Yarde fight, it needs to happen sooner than later.

If money, networks, and promotional ties can be worked out, it should happen; it is a fight fans would love to see. In the past, Bob Arum and Top Rank Boxing, who handle Beterbiev, have always been open to working with other promotional firms. In the post-fight presser, Top Rank’s Carl Moretti indicated that they would pursue Bivol and try to secure him as Beterbiev’s next opponent.

After the fight, Beterbiev, who has never called out any opponent beyond saying he wants to fight the fighters with the belts, seemed to know the next fight for him should be Bivol. He also hinted that he was well aware that he had gotten caught with a few too many shots for his liking.

“Every fight is different. It’s a different preparation. And the fighter is different, too. I can’t say I did a very bad fight. But if I could do it again, I’d do it better. But I feel good. To be honest, I prepared for the all the punches he did. That’s why I could come back. It’s because we expected those punches”.

And then he uttered the words everyone wanted to hear.

“I want Dmitry Bivol. Right now, it’s everything. In that fight, we’ll have four belts. It’s a really good fight, I think”.

Unlike other marquee fights that sit too long and often get made after their best-before date, this fight looks like it might happen sooner than later. If the match gets done, fight fans have an outstanding bout to look forward to later in the year.

Here’s hoping!