Beterbiev added Joe Smith Jr.’s WBO belt when he stopped the American in two rounds at Madison Square Garden in June 2022. “He caught me with a good shot coming forward, right behind the ear, and with the crowd and adrenaline rush, I didn’t give myself time to recover,” lamented Smith. “I just kept going after him and it got me into trouble. … I did land some decent shots early on, but the fight ended quickly.” Against Anthony Yarde in 2023, Beterbiev showed signs of cracking before roaring back to stop the dangerous Londoner (TKO 8) in an excellent two-way shootout. Next up was former Ring/WBA super middleweight champion Callum Smith, and Beterbiev delivered one of his most complete performances in a seven- round beatdown. And that brought him to Bivol.
A BRUISING COMBINATION OF SKILL AND POWER HAS TAKEN BETERBIEV TO THE TOP OF TODAY’S 175-POUND DIVISION, BUT WOULD IT HAVE BEEN ENOUGH AGAINST CHAMPIONS OF THE PAST? By Anson Wainwright
T his past October in his decade-long pursuit of becoming the undisputed light heavyweight champion. In a gripping battle between two of the most skilled men in boxing, he came on strong in the final stretch against longtime rival Dmitry Bivol and edged a 12-round majority decision to capture the vacant Ring Magazine belt and unify all four sanctioning body titles. Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, Artur Beterbiev finally reached the culmination of
IBF title. In a feat of brutal symmetry, he knocked out Enrico Koelling in the 12th round to push his record to 12-0 (12 KOs). After two defenses, Beterbiev met WBC counterpart Oleksandr Gvozdyk in October 2019, and the pair served up a classic. Gvozdyk started fast and got into an early lead, but the cerebral Beterbiev slowly but surely chipped away at his opponent with educated pressure. The Ukrainian was ahead on two of the three scorecards when he was finally floored three times and stopped
THE GREATS
ARTUR BETERBIEV VS.
Beterbiev started his journey as a perennial winner on the amateur scene, claiming gold at the 2006 and 2010 European Championships as well as the World Championships in 2009. Olympic glory proved to be more elusive; he lost before the medal stage in both the 2008 and 2012 Games. Beterbiev amassed almost 300 wins in the unpaid ranks before moving to Montreal, Canada, to begin his professional career with renowned trainer Marc Ramsay in 2013. The Russian-born fighter quickly proved that he was more than an amateur in pro’s clothing. He stopped former IBF light heavyweight titlist Tavoris Cloud in two rounds in his sixth pro bout. Two fights later, he knocked out former WBA 175-pound ruler Gabriel Campillo in four. When Andre Ward announced his retirement in 2017, Beterbiev was well-positioned to fight for the vacant
in the 10th round. “Beterbiev is phenomenally strong, physically. Either he hits you or wrestles in a clinch. Strong body, very heavy fists,” explained Gvozdyk. “Each of his punches are equally heavy. He [puts] constant pressure on you. Not as fast, not the best footwork, but he knows how to compensate lack of speed with his power. He makes pressure, cutting the angles. He forces you to engage [in the] middle distance, where, due to his power, he’s very dangerous. “[He’s not] as confident, when some guys [have] survived his attacks, trying to push him back with punches, but it’s not an easy task to manage.” After a 17-month layoff due to the pandemic and an injury, Beterbiev returned just as fearsome as ever, stopping Adam Deines in 10 rounds and then overcoming a hellacious cut to bludgeon Marcus Browne into submission in nine.
After years of circling each other, the combatants met to battle for ultimate supremacy, and although Beterbiev’s 100% knockout ratio ended in his 21st pro fight, he was triumphant. Due to the close nature of the first fight, the rematch was announced almost immediately. They’ll do it again on February 22, 2025. Beterbiev recently became the longest- reigning titleholder in the sport and currently sits at No. 4 in The Ring’s pound-for-pound rankings. Now in his corner for more than 11 years, Ramsay is well-placed to speak about the low- key, somewhat mysterious champion. “If training the unified champion represents a colossal job, it is also a satisfying job, because his work ethic is irreproachable and you never feel like you’re wasting your time as a coach,” he said. “When Artur undertakes something, he does it 100%. He is a very honest person with himself, but
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Illustrations by KRONKAAArt
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