Trainer Greg Hackett says Artur Beterbiev will be “too vicious” for Dmitry Bivol on Saturday night, and will get to him or the knockout by the tenth or eleventh round in Riyadh. He thinks Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) will get off to an early lead, but Beterbiev’s pressure will be too much for him.
Hackett noticed Bivol’s tendency to fight back when he’s hit. He doesn’t let his opponents hit him with shots without going on the attack, and that habit will work against him against Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs).
Bivol has a hot temper, and he can’t control him emotions when angered. You can see that in interviews sometimes. He’s got a temper, and that’s not good fighting a killer puncher like Beterbiev.
This Saturday, October 12th, IBF, WBC, and WBO light heavyweight champion Beterbiev will face WBA belt-holder Bivol for the undisputed championship at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The Beterbiev-Bivol fight will be shown live on ESPN+. in the USA and live on DAZN in the UK.
“It’s one of the best fights we can get this year. Two monsters. I think Beterbiev will win, but Bivol will put him through hell before he gets the win,” said trainer Greg Hackett to YSM Sports Media, picking Artur Beterbiev over Dmitry Bivol.
“It’s going to take a lot out of Beterbiev. It’s going to take a lot out of Bivol. Bivol is going to look like a hell of a boxer in the beginning. He might go up six rounds, but Beterbiev will catch up to him. The pressure will get to be too much.
“Beterbiev is too vicious, and Bivol is a man of respect. What I mean by that is he’s not going to let you run down. He’s not going to let you do what you want. So, he’s going to fight you back. He’s going to let you know he’s a man, too, but Beterbiev’s mindset is what’s going to win him the fight.
“He won’t stop. Like I said. The pressure will get to be too much. It’s an entertaining fight. We might see it twice, and I got Beterbiev in the first one. I think he’s too vicious for Bivol. Yeah, he’s going to have to stop him. You can’t beat Bivol on the cards,” said Hackett.
Bivol can lose on the cards because he gave away a lot of rounds against Canelo Alvarez in their fight in 2022. He was getting hit with hard shots from Canelo, and he wasn’t hitting him with the same kind of power punches. If Canelo can win rounds against Bivol, Beterbiev can too.
“Bivol has got too much game with him to beat him on the cards. You got to take him to deep water and break him. You got to push him in the tenth or eleventh round. To get the W, he’s got to pace himself well,” said Hackett when asked what Bivol must do to win.
Beterbiev isn’t going to try to win a boxing match because that’s not his style. He’s going to be looking to wear Bivol down, and knock him out. If it goes to the scorecards, he’ll likely have won enough rounds based on his power punching to win.
“He can’t let Beterbiev push him to the point where he’s throwing to survive. He’s got to set up his punches and set up his exit. If he don’t do that, he’s going to be in trouble after he throws his punches or maybe even before,” said Hackett about Bivol.
Bivol will fight back as he always does, and if things aren’t working out, he’ll probably stay on the outside and try to win by jabbing. In other words, Bivol will morph into an amateur mode, looking to win by landing pecking shots. That probably won’t work if Beterbiev is nailing him with hard power shots.
