Dmitry Bivol fights Lyndon Arthur, with an eye on Artur Beterbiev،
Dmitry Bivol insists he is just as motivated for Saturday's title fight against Lyndon Arthur as he was before his previous two fights – brilliant wins over Canelo Alvarez and Gilberto Ramirez.
Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs), ESPN's No. 1 light heavyweight and No. 5 pound-for-pound fighter, defends his WBA title for the 11th time against Arthur on the marathon card at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (11 a.m. ET on ESPN+ PPV)
Arthur (23-1, 16 KO), 32, from Manchester, will be making his first world title opportunity and has only lost once. That said, he doesn't bring the same level of threat as Alvarez, the reigning undisputed super middleweight champion, and Ramirez, a former super middleweight world champion. Bivol defeated Canelo and Ramirez by unanimous decisions in May and December 2022, respectively.
However, Bivol is not taking Arthur for granted and says he is still laser-focused on not disrupting his progress towards a clash with Russian rival Artur Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KOs), who holds the WBC belts , IBF and WBO. . Beterbiev will defend his titles against Callum Smith in Canada on January 13.
“I saw Arthur's fights against Anthony Yarde and I saw his last fight against [Braian] Suarez,” Bivol told ESPN. “I could tell he uses his jab and tries to counterattack with his right hand. Counter punches are dangerous because you can't see the punches, so I have to be very careful against him. I have to be focused throughout the fight and treat it seriously.
“I think when we signed the contract to fight Arthur, Saudi Arabia said they wanted to see it as my future fight with Beterbiev. I believe it can happen. I have to win this fight to continue moving towards my goal to become an undisputed world champion.
Bivol is a clean, classic boxer who dismantles and outwits his opponents with his jab, while Beterbiev relies on his power to knock out every professional opponent he has encountered. Bivol vs. Beterbiev to decide an undisputed light heavyweight champion is one of the best fights to be made in boxing today, and Bivol believes it is achievable for 2024.
After a breakthrough in 2022, Bivol will box for the first time this year on Saturday. His absence from the ring is due to his schedule and his recovery from hand surgery.
We were discussing my fight in January in the United States, but we didn't find the right opponent and I then had to have surgery on an old injury on my right hand. But then the opportunity to fight in Saudi Saudi Arabia showed up,” Bivol told ESPN. .
The Dec. 23 show was quickly finalized last month, so much so that Bivol was unable to train in California, as he usually would.
“I was training in Kyrgyzstan before I knew I was going to fight in Saudi Arabia in December,” Bivol told ESPN. “The fight happened on very short notice and I didn't have enough time to go to the United States to train before the fight, overcome the time difference and then fly back to Saudi Arabia.
“I trained in the city and sometimes on weekends I went to the mountains to breathe clean air. Most of the time I train in Kyrgyzstan, I spent most of the year there last.”
Temperatures in Bishkek were minus 20 degrees Celsius (-4 Fahrenheit) earlier this month, which is very different from what Bivol is experiencing this week in the Saudi desert after a 6.5-hour flight from Kyrgyzstan. Bivol moved from Kyrgyzstan to St. Petersburg, Russia, at the age of 11 and his family still lives in the Russian city. Bivol returns home often, especially when he is not training.
It's been a quiet year for Bivol, disappointing considering the impact he's had in 2022, but Saturday is an opportunity to grab some attention before potentially facing Beterbiev in the second half of next year .
