It’s officially fight week for the upcoming light heavyweight showdown between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, who will collide for undisputed status this Saturday in Riyadh. Beterbiev, who maintains a 100% knockout percentage, acknowledges Bivol’s class and tells Sky Sports that he won’t be specifically aiming for stoppage but is aware that he can put anyone away if he lands.
“If I land, everyone can be knocked out,” he said, before adding: “At the same time we’re not thinking about a knockout, it’s not the main thing in our team.”
Beterbiev would continue by saying that he’s been preparing well for this clash with Bivol, and says this is not the kind of fight that can be won by brute force alone, so he knows he’ll have to come prepared with multiple game plans as the fight evolves.
“It’s not good if you prepare for a fight with one scenario. You need to be smarter.”
While Beterbiev may be a ferocious and intimidating puncher, he also admits that it’s not his style to build up a fight by talking trash. That, however, won’t take anything away from the action in the ring, as Beterbiev says fans can still expect a good fight from the opening round.