Artur Beterbiev is days away from an epic undisputed clash with Dmitry Bivol while potential clashes with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez and David Benavidez await in the future.
This coming together between two unbeaten light heavyweights is a mouthwatering proposition. The winner could make a strong claim to be at the upper end of the pound-for-pound rankings given their achievements.
Beterbiev has knocked out all 20 of his opponents so far and is the unified champion. Bivol has also beaten everyone he has faced including the current unified super middleweight champion Canelo.
He is the fleet-footed stylist, whereas Beterbiev packs all the power, which is what makes their clash in Saudi Arabia this Saturday such an intriguing one.
Whoever comes out on top will have plenty of options for their next fight. ‘Canelo’ has long spoken of his desire to rematch Bivol, but also recently admitted Betervbiev would be a tough challenge.
Also waiting in the wings is David Benavidez, the current interim WBC light heavyweight champion after beating Oleksandr Gvozdyk last time out, but he is apparently not rated as highly as ‘Canelo’ by Beterbiev.
Speaking to DAZN, he was asked to give his current Top 5 pound-for-pound stars and whilst Canelo made it in a number three there was no place for ‘The Mexican Monster.’
- Terence Crawford
- Naoya Inoue/Oleksandr Usyk
- Saul ‘Canelo’ Avarez
- Tyson Fury
- Devin Haney
Benavidez had long been waiting for his shot at Canelo and in the end moved to 175lbs to chase gold there. Although his plan is to now face the winner of Beterbiev-Bivol, if Canelo decides to move up, with his financial draw he could leap frog Benavidez in the queue.
