King Arthur’s unnecessary belt. Why is Bivol taking risks instead of fighting Beterbiev?

King Arthur’s unnecessary belt. Why is Bivol taking risks instead of fighting Beterbiev?

Sergey Sorokin November 28, 2023, 09:00 Moscow time Audio version: Your browser does not support the audio element.

Dmitry comes out after a long period of inactivity to reminisce about professional boxing.

A brilliant Matchroom Boxing evening of boxing will take place in Saudi Arabia on December 23. In the third most important fight, Dmitry Bivol (21-0-0) and Lyndon Arthur (23-1-0) will fight. The undefeated Russian returns to the ring for the first time since November 5, 2022, when he defeated Gilberto Ramírez. After the announcement of this event appeared, many were left in unpleasant surprise. Of course, everyone was waiting for Arthur, but something completely different – Beterbiev. But instead of a top-tier fight with his compatriot, Dmitry will face an opponent many have called Bivol “beatable.” So why would the Russians fight this fight?

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Of course, many wanted Bivol to immediately fight Beterbiev. But such a situation would be as strange as possible, all things considered. The first factor that prevented this from happening appears to be a long period of inactivity. The last time Bivol appeared in the ring was over a year ago. The pace of Dmitry’s performances has decreased significantly. In the last four years, Bivol has had only four fights.

Obviously, the reason was the complexity of the negotiations. Representatives of the Bivol team talked about this throughout the year. Some opponents stubbornly flee from the Russians because they understand the hopelessness of their situation. Others are simply trying to show that they are interested in the fight, but are looking for an opportunity to get away from it. Therefore, for a long time Dmitry could not get into the ring. And now he will do it with very good opposition.

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Yes, it is not worth writing off Lyndon and scoring Dmitry’s victory even before the fight. On paper, Bivol has one of the best options right now. King Arthur, which is the nickname the British boxer goes by, has a decent professional record of 23-1-0. And his only loss was to Anthony Yarde. The same one who knew how to sneak in Beterbiev quite well. After that, Lyndon went on a four-win streak.

Another important point is the distribution of light weight belts. And there are three titles in the hands of Beterbiev, one of Bivol and one more of Lindon. It turns out that the only suitable opponent before the great duel with Arthur was… that is, Arthur, but a British one.

The Bivol team is doing absolutely the right thing. Prolonged downtime rarely goes unnoticed, even by the best boxers. And the confrontation with Lindon could become the “bridge” through which it is necessary to go directly to the fight with Beterbiev.

In order not to force things too much, Bivol can fight Arthur. And even he agreed that the fight would be only the third most important that night. If you manage to defeat your opponent without problems, it will be an excellent sign that you can go on to prepare the most anticipated fight of the century by Russian fans. But if Lindon causes difficulties, then we will have to think carefully about whether it is worth facing Beterbiev at this time.