Shakur Stevenson thinks Dmitry Bivol will beat Artur Beterbiev in their upcoming light-heavyweight fight. The two champions will face off on October 12 in Saudi Arabia, in a match that's got boxing fans excited.
The fight was supposed to happen earlier but got pushed back because Beterbiev hurt his knee. Now it's set to be the main event on a card that also features an all-British heavyweight rematch between Fabio Wardley and Frazier Clarke. Stevenson himself will be defending his lightweight title against Joe Cordina, who's moving up from super featherweight, on the same night.
Stevenson, who's one of the best young talents in boxing, shared his thoughts on the fight in an interview with Boxing News. He said:
"Helluva fight, helluva fight. Like I said, me and 'Tank' is the biggest from a popularity standpoint, we're a lot bigger than that fight, but from a skill point of view, that fight is up there too in my opinion. Artur Beterbiev is the big puncher, the monster, the boogeyman, then you got Bivol who is a helluva boxer, controls the distance well, barely gets touched, got great feet. I think that fight is right up there, skill wise, as one of the best fights for me."
Beterbiev has built a fearsome reputation as a knockout artist. He's won all 20 of his pro fights by KO, giving him a perfect 100% knockout rate. But Stevenson thinks Bivol's skills will be the difference maker. He explained:
"I like Bivol, footwork, his good conditioning, the good jab that he got, I think he gonna control the distance. Beterbiev got skills that people don't know too with his feet, he got a good jab too. Truthfully it's going to be a hell of a fight but I'm picking Bivol to win."
Bivol will need all of his skills to overcome Beterbiev's power. The fight promises to be a clash of styles that could go either way, making it one of the most anticipated matchups in boxing this year.