News Beterbiev vs Bivol Oct.12th in Saudi ESPN+

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

This is what Beterbiev's sparring partners look like after he's done with them. They don't last long. Many have been sent home early. Some even ask to be paid more once they realize just how terrible it is to spar him.

 

[Blastbeat]

Shakur is out until 2025 with a hand injury.

must be from all of those tweets he put out. social media did a number on those hands.

 

[randomg1t]

This is what Beterbiev's sparring partners look like after he's done with them. They don't last long. Many have been sent home early. Some even ask to be paid more once they realize just how terrible it is to spar him.

i've heard nothing but horror stories about his sparring sessions. dude wears comically large gloves, rotating sparring partners every round, guys that are being paid some serious cash for every day of sparring, and people still pack their shit and leave after the first day.

i mean he looks like a bruiser. every fight i see him in, i get the feeling any kind of contact with him must fucking hurt. he's built like a brick shithouse, he uses his forearms to prevent clinching, and every punch he lands makes a thudding sound. fighting this guy must be fucking miserable.

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

i've heard nothing but horror stories about his sparring sessions. dude wears comically large gloves, rotating sparring partners every round, guys that are being paid some serious cash for every day of sparring, and people still pack their shit and leave after the first day.

i mean he looks like a bruiser. every fight i see him in, i get the feeling any kind of contact with him must fucking hurt. he's built like a brick shithouse, he uses his forearms to prevent clinching, and every punch he lands makes a thudding sound. fighting this guy must be fucking miserable.

I've heard the same horror stories. Even know some of the guys' names that've asked for more money. One of them asked to be paid double and actually got it. Yeah, he wears 20 oz. gloves when sparring. Typically guys will spar in 16s, or up to 18s, but rarely 20s.

One particular story that his assistant trainer John Scully told is pretty haunting. He said that Beterbiev hit one of his sparring partners with a solid shot, nothing huge, and it stunned the guy. He immediately stopped what he was doing and then screamed at the top of his lungs, "This can't be good for me!". Then he left the camp right after. Reportedly his sparring partners don't last long. Typically only a matter of days. Like you said they're rotated like every other round. They get banged up really bad.

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

Speaking of those sparring horror stories—Dan Azeez somehow made it an entire month sparring Beterbiev. According to him Beterbiev isn't just the hardest hitter he's sparred, he hits even harder than heavyweights like Dubois. It probably feels like that because Beterbiev is so heavy-handed.

"They're both equally as good, but the power stands out for Beterbiev.

"Trust me, three minutes in the ring with him is like half an hour. And then your one minute rest is like ten seconds, I swear to you.

"I've had so many spars and never in my life - I've sparred heavyweights like Daniel Dubois - but them punches, it's never been where I've thought, 'Yeah, forget this.'

"It was a gut check as well, I was there for a whole month. I was in that camp when people would just have one spar and went home. And they were being paid and everything.

"It was definitely a good experience. He's definitely the hardest hitter I've sparred."

I sparred Artur Beterbiev for a full month – the KO king is a ‘machine’ and punches harder than heavyweights

 

[pugilistico]

Man these stories are making me rethink my prediction. I've been watching videos of both guys train and I'm starting to think Biev catches Bivol at some point while losing most of the rounds. I don't like how Bivol sometimes runs straight back instead of circling and Canelo was able to push him against the ropes despite being smaller. Beterbiev seems like the strongest boxer I've ever seen in terms of pure strength and he knows how to use his strength to push guys around. Beterbiev probably gets outboxed most of the fight but he just needs a few clean shots while Bivol is against the ropes. Bivol can't stand in front of him at all and be perfect in his game plan.

 

[randomg1t]

Man these stories are making me rethink my prediction. I've been watching videos of both guys train and I'm starting to think Biev catches Bivol at some point while losing most of the rounds. I don't like how Bivol sometimes runs straight back instead of circling and Canelo was able to push him against the ropes despite being smaller. Beterbiev seems like the strongest boxer I've ever seen in terms of pure strength and he knows how to use his strength to push guys around. Beterbiev probably gets outboxed most of the fight but he just needs a few clean shots while Bivol is against the ropes. Bivol can't stand in front of him at all and be perfect in his game plan.

it's definitely a toss up.

the thing that has me leaning towards bivol is the fact that he's younger and more mobile. i can't find the stats right now, but if i recall correctly bivol has the lowest percentage of punches landed on him of all the active fighters right now? if not, he's up there. his defense is sublime. another thing most people don't realize is that he seems to fight to the level of his opponent, which is why i expect him to look his best yet when he fights beterbiev.

gun to my head i'd say bivol takes a decision, but hits the deck at least once. i imagine he's going to fight for his life in this one, and eke it out by a small margin.

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

Man these stories are making me rethink my prediction. I've been watching videos of both guys train and I'm starting to think Biev catches Bivol at some point while losing most of the rounds. I don't like how Bivol sometimes runs straight back instead of circling and Canelo was able to push him against the ropes despite being smaller. Beterbiev seems like the strongest boxer I've ever seen in terms of pure strength and he knows how to use his strength to push guys around. Beterbiev probably gets outboxed most of the fight but he just needs a few clean shots while Bivol is against the ropes. Bivol can't stand in front of him at all and be perfect in his game plan.

I'm confident that Beterbiev stops Bivol. No matter how good Bivol's defense is he's going to get hit like he's never been hit before. Even the most defensively blessed fighters still get hit. Ultimately it's going to come down to his level of durability. Unless Bivol is wrapped in titanium then he'll end up like all the rest. I also expect Beterbiev to be down on the cards when the stoppage comes. But it will come. Some would describe Bivol as the perfect boxer, and he is, more or less. However, I would describe Beterbiev as the perfect storm. The Doomsday to Bivol's Superman.

 

[pugilistico]

I'm confident that Beterbiev stops Bivol. No matter how good Bivol's defense is he's going to get hit like he's never been hit before. Even the most defensively blessed fighters still get hit. Ultimately it's going to come down to his level of durability. Unless Bivol is wrapped in titanium then he'll end up like all the rest. I also expect Beterbiev to be down on the cards when the stoppage comes. But it will come. Some would describe Bivol as the perfect boxer, and he is, more or less. However, I would describe Beterbiev as the perfect storm. The Doomsday to Bivol's Superman.

I keep thinking of how Smith stunned Bivol with an overhand. If Smith could hit Bivol like that, Beterbiev can for sure, and if Beterbiev hits Bivol, I don't see Bivol recovering.

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

I keep thinking of how Smith stunned Bivol with an overhand. If Smith could hit Bivol like that, Beterbiev can for sure, and if Beterbiev hits Bivol, I don't see Bivol recovering.

Yeah Smith nailed him with an overhand right late in their fight. That's Beterbiev's signature punch. Another thing that Bivol doesn't handle well is fighting in close. He has no inside game. Bivol will try and perfectly manage distance but it will inevitably go there at times. Beterbiev will take full advantage of it when it does.

 

[RichardHarrow]

We’re less than a month away and the primary ticket host for Riyadh Season hasn’t uploaded the fight. Maybe Turki is beginning to understand the mercurial nature of boxing.

Failing that if the tickets aren’t available by next week ….

 

[froggyluv]

This is THE only fight I really want to see and last time it fell thru so im just gonna pretend like its Off until its Fight Night -in which ill go ApeSh*t and do the Bull Dance

 

[randomg1t]

I keep thinking of how Smith stunned Bivol with an overhand. If Smith could hit Bivol like that, Beterbiev can for sure, and if Beterbiev hits Bivol, I don't see Bivol recovering.

Yeah Smith nailed him with an overhand right late in their fight. That's Beterbiev's signature punch. Another thing that Bivol doesn't handle well is fighting in close. He has no inside game. Bivol will try and perfectly manage distance but it will inevitably go there at times. Beterbiev will take full advantage of it when it does.

true, but by that logic, artur's also been dropped by jeff page jr and callum johnson. right straight for page, left hook for johnson, punches that bivol is very capable of landing on anyone.

not that i expect him to drop beterbiev, i'm just saying. if we're going by old fights in which they get rocked, bivol hasn't actually been down. beterbiev has, twice.

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

true, but by that logic, artur's also been dropped by jeff page jr and callum johnson. right straight for page, left hook for johnson, punches that bivol is very capable of landing on anyone.

not that i expect him to drop beterbiev, i'm just saying. if we're going by old fights in which they get rocked, bivol hasn't actually been down. beterbiev has, twice.

The Page knockdown shouldn't have been ruled a knockdown. I've seen it in slow motion. The Callum Johnson one definitely hurt Artur though. But there he got caught in an exchange. Bivol avoids exchanging and doesn't pack the kind of power that Johnson has.

Bivol didn't go down but he was hurt badly. His coach went "What the fuck was that?!" after he walked back to his corner on spaghetti legs. He also wasn't the same after. Bivol didn't recover. Beterbiev did when he got hurt and dropped against Johnson.

 

[Nova44]

Man these stories are making me rethink my prediction. I've been watching videos of both guys train and I'm starting to think Biev catches Bivol at some point while losing most of the rounds. I don't like how Bivol sometimes runs straight back instead of circling and Canelo was able to push him against the ropes despite being smaller. Beterbiev seems like the strongest boxer I've ever seen in terms of pure strength and he knows how to use his strength to push guys around. Beterbiev probably gets outboxed most of the fight but he just needs a few clean shots while Bivol is against the ropes. Bivol can't stand in front of him at all and be perfect in his game plan.

I predicted Bivol in the poll, but it's not so much that i'm convinced Bivol wins, i just don't agree with people acting like Bivol is a free win for Biev. I can see either guy winning.

 

[randomg1t]

The Page knockdown shouldn't have been ruled a knockdown. I've seen it in slow motion.

why not?

 

[Kovalev's "Man Bag"]

why not?

Because the punch wasn't legal. Even if you want to argue that it was it didn't land cleanly. It made contact with the tape on Page's glove and pushed Beterbiev down when he was off balance. He then continued to follow through with the push using his wrist & forearm to actually put him over.

 

[randomg1t]

Because the punch wasn't legal. Even if you want to argue that it was it didn't land cleanly. It made contact with the tape on Page's glove and pushed Beterbiev down when he was off balance. He then continued to follow through with the push using his wrist & forearm to actually put him over.

oh man that seems like a stretch. but whatever, not a hill i'm dying on.

 

[RichardHarrow]

oh man that seems like a stretch. but whatever, not a hill i'm dying on.

“Not a hill I’m dying on”- definitely using that one thanks.

 

[borntoloseNOT]

I kinda thought of this fight while watching Lara/Garcia last night, or even Shakurs last couple of fights. When a guy can stink out the joint and other guy can’t prevent it, can be frustrating. I have a feeling it will be more like Benavidez/Plant though. Bivol controlling a tight affair and then one exchange on the inside and landscape and look of fight completely changing after.