Hasim Rahman feels Artur Beterbiev is too strong for Dmitry Bivol and will knock him out at some point in their fight this Saturday night in Riyadh.
Former WBA champion Rahman (23-0, 12 KOs) would knock out IBF, WBC, and WBO champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) if it was that kind of fight, but he doesn’t. think it will be.
Rahman sees Beterbiev cut off the ring from Bivol, wearing him down, and knocking him out in that order on Saturday, October 12, in their undisputed 175-lb championship bout at the Kingdom Arena.
Hasim likes Bivol’s skills, but only that he is facing Beterbiev, who is very strong, who hits hard, and will eventually get to him by KO. Bivol is affected because he is a combination puncher, and those guys are always tagged.
The 33-year-old Bivol has come a long way in his career, holding his WBA title for seven years as of 2017 and successfully defending his title 12 times, but he hasn’t faced much opposition in all those years. The best guy Bivol has fought since taking his WBA belt is 5’8″ Canelo Alvarez, who was too small to compete at 175.
“Artur Beterbiev has excellent boxing skills. He had an amazing background as an artist and went to two Olympics. No one has released it yet because its power is deadly. That rules everything,” Hasim Rahman told Fighthype, previewing the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol.
“Bivol, if he makes Beterbiev box, he will beat him. You are a better warrior. “I think Bivol has the better footwork, but I think Beterbiev has the ability to break the ring and make him fight,” continued Rahman. “If you tell me that Bivol will not be beaten by Beterbiev. If you don’t tell me that, then you don’t tell me what I want to hear because you will lose.”
Bivol will be hit hard in this fight because he will be forced to trade Beterbiev whether he wants to or not. In addition, Bivol is a typical hot-tempered fighter who gets angry when beaten and seeks immediate revenge. We have seen that many times in Bivol’s career, most recently in his last fight against Malik Zinad last June. The diminutive Zinad was touching Bivol up in the first three rounds, and he furiously went after the Libyan striker to knock him out in the sixth.
“He was taking guys out at 200 lbs in the amateurs. Now he’s down to 175, and he’s destroying 175 pounds,” Rahman said of Artur Beterbiev. “The thing that will defeat Beterbiev is Father Time. Besides, there is no one currently in the top 10 who can beat this man.”
Rahman may be right. The only thing that will hinder Beterbiev’s career is age, but that probably won’t happen on Saturday night. Bivol will eventually be caught and released. We saw Bivol hurt by Lyndon Arthur last December, and he was not the same after being surprised by a right hand. In the last four laps, Bivol was on his bike, running away from Lyndon.
“On my own, Bivol. Yes, he can [stay away from Beterbiev’s power for 12 rounds]. “Beterbiev has never faced someone like Bivol,” said cruiserweight Gilberto Ramirez. “I like the way he moves. I think he can win by decision.”
Gilberto was badly beaten by Bivol in 2022 and he was knocked out badly. It is not surprising that he is with Bivol after that loss. It would have been nice if Ramirez had stayed around 175 long enough to challenge Beterbiev for his three titles because he would have been able to provide a more accurate assessment of who is the better fighter between the two.
👑👑👑 #BeterbievBivol | #RiyadhSeason | Oct 12, live on DAZN | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/2tQGexDMV6
– DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) October 7, 2024
