According to various reports, along with Artur Beterbiev’s twitter page, Beterbiev and Sullivan Barrera will clash in an IBF light-heavyweight eliminator – the winner to challenge Andre Ward (if Ward doesn’t retire, as he has suggested might be the case).
There is no date or venue yet and the fight has not been officially announced, but Barrera has tweeted how he wants the fight – even stating how he cannot understand why other fighters have swerved the unbeaten Russian banger – and Beterbiev has tweeted that Barrera has agreed to face him.
“We just got confirmation that Sullivan Barrera insisted on the fight and it will take place. I would like to thank Sullivan. He proved to be a real fighter. As the Russian proverb goes: ‘Let the strongest win.’,” Beterbiev wrote on social media.
A very interesting fight and arguably the toughest test yet in the career of the 11-0(11) contender who has yet to be extended beyond the 7th round. Cuban Barrera, 18-1(13) of course lost his unbeaten record to Ward last March when he was comprehensively outpointed. Barrera bounced back with a very impressive KO over unbeaten prospect Vyacheslav Shabranskyy in December. A very good amateur, like Beterbiev, Barrera is tough and game and he can punch; although it’s possible no light-heavyweight hits as hard as Beterbiev.
In a couple of his fights where he had been expected to perhaps be both tested and extended, 32-year-old Beterbiev instead crushed his opponent. It would be very impressive if he did it again against Barrera, but with Beterbiev it cannot be at all ruled out.
Will Ward, 31-0(15) want anything to do with Beterbiev if he does as most fans seem to be the case at this early stage and defeats Barrera? Ward, if he does continue on in his career, must first face Sergey Kovalev in a contracted rematch of their highly controversial November fight, won of course by Ward via debatable decision.
Should he get past “Krusher” Kovalev a second time, would Ward want to face another, perhaps even bigger puncher after that!
