Artur Beterbiev (16-0, 16 KOs) looked as powerful as always in beating challenger Adam Deines (19-2-1, 10 KOs) like a drum for nine rounds before stopping him in the 10th round to retain his IBF & WBC light heavyweight titles on Saturday night at the Megasport Sports Palace in Moscow, Russia.
Deines, 30, hit the deck in rounds one and ten. The fight was wisely stopped by Deines’ corner after he was knocked down by Beterbiev, 36, in the 10th.
Beterbiev landed a picture-perfect left to the head of Deines in round ten that sent him down hard on the canvas.
The towel was thrown in at that point by Deines’ corner, which was a good move. If the action had resumed, Beterbiev would have likely poleaxed the badly hurt Deines.
The official time of the stoppage was 1:34 of round 10. With the win, Beterbiev holds onto his knockout streak.
Now it’ll be interesting to see if Canelo Alvarez chooses to look in Beterbiev’s direction because he didn’t look that great tonight.
If Canelo wants to be validated by boxing fans, he gains a lot more from taking on Beterbiev and beating him than he will from taking on and defeating Billy Joe Saunders and Caleb Plant.
- Pavel Silyagin (7-0, 4 KOs) UD 12 Azizbek Abdugofurov (13-1, 5 KOs). Scores: 120-108, 119-109, 119-109.
- Alexander Besputin (14-0, 10 KOs) TKO 3 Viktor Plotnikov (33-11, 15 KOs)
- Khariton Agrba TKO 2 Helber Rojas
- Vladimir Mironchikov (3-0, 3 KOs) TKO 1 Elvin Akhundzada (4-6, 2 KOs).
- Vladimir Ivanov (4-0, 3 KOs) TKO 1 Alexander Stepanov (2-4, 1 KO).
- Rakhman Akhmetkhanov (1-0, 1 KOs) TKO 2 Artem Karpets (21-15, 6 KOs)
Preview:
Beterbiev has visions of becoming the undisputed 175 lb champion in 2021, and he obviously views Deines as a small obstacle in his path to greatness.
Winning his 16th straight fight by knockout tonight is the immediate goal for Beterbiev.
He not only wants to come out of the fight with his IBF & WBC belts still in his possession, but he hopes to get the ‘W’ emphatically by adding to his knockout total.
Beterbiev hasn’t been as active as he’s wanted to during his career, but he’s made it count when he has fought. His fights have been memorable with the way he destroys his opposition.
What has held Beterbiev back from becoming a superstar is the lack of name fighters in the 175-lb division, which is why he was looking forward to trying to get against Canelo Alvarez when he briefly came up to light heavyweight in 2019.
That would have been the perfect opponent for Beterbiev to fight to increase his fame and fortune overnight. If he had taken Canelo’s scalp, he would have been on his way to stardom.
“It would be no problem on my side if there a chance to make that fight,” said Beterbiev to Yahoo Sports about his desire to fight Canelo. “I would like to take it. That would be the kind of fight I want.”
But as most fans already know, Canelo quickly vacated the WBO 175-lb belt that he won off the aging champion Sergey Kovalev, and he moved back down to 168. When asked this week by Mike Tyson if he’ll return to the 175-lb division, Canelo said he wouldn’t be.
That’s not to say that Canelo wouldn’t fight Beterbiev, but it requires him to move down to 168, and who knows whether there would a rehydration clause that he would need to agree to for him to get the fight?
Beterbiev, 36, can end his fights early, but he’s a game opponent in 30-year-old Deines. This guy has never been knocked out before, and this is the equivalent of the Super Bowl for him.
If Deines can defeat Beterbiev, it’ll give him a nice payday, or it may even lure Canelo Alvarez to move up to 175 to take advantage of a golden opportunity to show that he’s the best fighter in this division.
Big favorite Artur Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KOs) fights tonight in a Top Rank promoted card on ESPN and ESPN+ against substitute opponent Adam Deines (19-1-1, 10 KOs) in a fight that isn’t expected to go the 12 round distance from the Khodynka Ice Palace, in Moscow, Russia.
The fight card starts at 3 pm ET on ESPN/ESPN+ with Beterbiev headlining in defense of his IBF & WBC 175-lb belts against Deines.
