It is easy to be overly critical that is why we always come at everything with balance on Boxing News and Views. This is impressive from Beterbiev.
Artur Beterbiev may not be the force he once was but he maybe is one of the best athletes in his 40s in professional boxing.
He is 1-1 with his long-term rival Dmitry Bivol in professional boxing and the fight is still a big one.
Not only in Russia and the East but in the US too and worldwide.
The trouble is it looks like either Dmitry Bivol or whoever is advising him does not want the fight as much.
Beterbiev could still be in the top 5 hardest-hitting punchers in all of boxing if such a list existed.
Of rating fighters for their punching power only on a one-hit basis of power.
But that does not always win fights as he found against gifted boxer Dmitry Bivol in the fight he did lose to him in.
Beterbiev on his part is now saying he is not sure the David Benavidez fight will happen at this point.
And that he is more interested in the Dmitry Bivol third fight.
Bivol had looked to finally be interested in the big trilogy as well recently but now is going back under the knife again in surgery.
And is even looking at a fight with Callum Smith. That is not good enough from Bivol and it clearly shows the wanting the fight is more on Beterbiev’s part.
If Bivol tries to duck Beterbiev maybe he can look at going to cruiserweight to fight David Benavidez or even Jai Opetaia there.
Maybe David Benavidez can come back to light-heavyweight for a fight with him there as well.
Bivol is not coming away from this looking good at all.
If he opts for a Callum Smith fight he will be hammered worldwide by boxing.
There are big fights right there on a plate for him but the surgery on his elbow shows his time in boxing looks near an end.
Certainly at the very highest level.
His body clearly cannot stand up to the gruelling nature of world championship professional boxing.
He struggled with Eifert in his comeback recently.
He would have wiped the floor with him years ago.
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