Roy Jones Jr. is siding with Dmitry Bivol to defeat Artur Beterbiev of their undisputed gentle heavyweight championship on October twelfth on ESPN+ in Riyadh.
Jones Jr. feels that the youth and that WBA 175-lb champion Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) has by no means been knocked down in his profession, means that he’ll defeat IBF, WBC, and WBO gentle heavyweight champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) of their 12-round conflict on the Kingdom Area.
Roy Jr. was impressed with Bivol’s dominance of pound-for-pound star Canelo Alvarez two years in the past. Bivol beat Alvarez by a one-sided 12-round unanimous choice in Las Vegas on Might 7, 2022.
Why Bivol Has Edge
- Age: Beterbiev is 39, significantly older than the 33-year-old Bivol, and never in his prime.
- Chin issue: As Jones Jr. factors out, Beterbiev has been knocked down twice throughout his profession: by Callum Johnson in 2018 and Jeff Web page Jr. in 2014. Though Beterbiev got here again shortly to knock out each fighters, he was nonetheless down.
- Higher resume: Bivol has wins over Canelo Alvarez and Gilberto Ramirez, and Beterbiev has no victories that stack as much as being pretty much as good.
“He was in with Canelo Alvarez, and he made him appear like nothing. So, I’m not saying it’s 50-50. Beterbiev has to point out me to carry it again to 50-50,” mentioned Roy Jones Jr. to the Combat Hub TV YouTube channel, giving WBA gentle heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol the sting over IBF/WBC/WBO 175-lb champ Artur Beterbiev on October twelfth.
Canelo as a Barometer
We didn’t see Beterbiev in with Canelo to match how he would do towards him. Utilizing Canelo as a barometer to choose who wins the Beterbiev-Bivol combat would solely make sense if each fighters had fought him as a substitute of simply considered one of them, Bivol.
There’s probability that if Beterbiev fought Canelo, he’d bludgeon him into a fast stoppage inside six rounds. Canelo wouldn’t be capable to maintain Beterbiev off of him, and he would get labored over on the within, which is normally the place he’s at his strongest. Beterbiev is a greater inside fighter than Canelo, far superior to Bivol, who has no inside sport. Bivol holds on the within fairly than combating.
“Bivol has the benefit 60-40. Beterbiev is a hell of a fighter and has superior energy. It’s a really harmful sport that Bivol has to play as a result of Beterbiev might be the very best puncher within the historical past of that division,” mentioned Roy Jr.
Jones Jr. is discussing whether or not Bivol can knock out or harm Beterbiev. He feels that he has to combat aggressively for him to do this. Doing so would danger getting clipped by considered one of Beterbiev’s heavy pictures, and Bivol doesn’t react properly when he’s harm.
Bivol’s Vulnerability
We noticed that final December when Lyndon Arthur surprised Bivol with a giant shot. Bivol seemed like he’d been electrocuted with 2,200 volts.
If that had been Beterbiev contained in the ring with Bivol, it might suffice to say that we wouldn’t see a combat on October twelfth. Beterbiev could be the undisputed champion, whereas they might be within the comfort bracket towards Joshua Buatsi or Wily Hutchinson.
“It’s an excellent combat. If it’s 50-50, it’s due to his punching energy. Beterbiev is 38 years previous [correction: Beterbiev has been 39 since last January], and he’s been down. Bivol has by no means been down,” mentioned Roy.
Roy Jr. is appropriate that Bivol hasn’t been down, however these have harm him fighters:
– Joe Smith Jr.
– Lyndon Arthur
– Craig Richards
– Jean Pascal
Bivol could be harm and knocked down if he’s hit onerous sufficient. If he had been hit with the shot that knocked Beterbiev down by Callum Johnson, a really massive puncher, it might have resulted in the identical factor occurring to him.
