Beterbiev And Bivol Face Off In Final Presser
Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol held their final pre-fight presser as they gear up for their Undisputed Light Heavyweight Title clash on Saturday.
Beterbiev puts his WBC, WBO and IBF titles on the line, aiming to pick up Bivol’s WBA belt. He arrives into the fight with a 100% knockout rate and a 20-0 record. He stopped Callum Smith in his last fight in impressive fashion to set up the undisputed clash. There are some question marks over his injury record coming into the fight. He pulled out of the Smith fight before it was rescheduled. He did the same for the Bivol fight, as it was initially meant to go ahead in June. Beterbiev withdrew with a knee injury, but the 39-year-old has reassured fans that he is in top condition.
Bivol defeated Malik Zinad in his last fight to retain his WBA belt. That took his record to 23-0. The biggest win of his career has been against Canelo Alvarez when the Mexican jumped up from 168 pounds. However, Beterbiev is a completely different fighter. There are question marks over whether Bivol will be able to outbox him for the full 12 rounds, just as he did against Canelo. Beterbiev is a master of closing the distance and getting his man out. But if he can take the fight into the later rounds, the odds will be in his favor since better Beterbiev has never been the distance.
Co-Main
In chief support, Fabio Wardley defends his British Heavyweight Title against Frazer Clarke. They rematch six months after their first bout which ended in a split draw. Clarke had to get off the canvas in round four. He was also docked a point for a low blow. Had it not been for those factors, he may have gotten the win.
The scorecards were as follows: 114-113 for Wardley and 115-112 for Clarke. The last one was 113-113. Wardley has come a long way since his early days. He worked his way from the unlicensed circuit before sparring with Dillian Whyte. Clarke had amateur success, winning the bronze medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Eubank Vs. Szeremeta
Elsewhere. Chris Eubank Jr. will fight Kamil Szeremeta in the co-main event. He has not fought in over a year since stopping Liam Smith in his last bout. The victory was significant, especially since Smith had stopped him in the first fight. This raised suggestions that he could retire. Eubank has the pressure since this is the first fight with BOXXER. He has indicated his desire to face the biggest names next year, with eyes on a potential Canelo Alvarez fight.
His opponent, however, is no pushover. He has been in with the biggest names in the sport. He faced off against GGG and Jaime Munguia. While he lost those fights, it showed he had experience on the biggest stage. His current record is 25-2-2. He has won four of his last five previous bouts. Szeremeta enters the contest with a draw against Abel Mina. The presser raised many talking points, with the fighters having plenty to say.
Full Card
Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol; For the IBF, WBC, WBO and WBA light heavyweight titles
Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Kamil Szeremeta; Middleweight
Fabio Wardley vs. Frazer Clarke; British Heavyweight Title
Jai Opetaia vs. Jack Massey; IBF Cruiserweight Title
Ben Whittaker vs. Liam Cameron; Light Heavyweight
Skye Nicolson vs. Raven Chapman; WBC Women’s Featherweight Title
Mohammaed Alakel vs. Jesus Gonzalez; Lightweight
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