Former Light-Heavyweight Champ Kovalev Reveals Surprising Pick for Beterbiev-Bivol: "Nobody Expects This"

Sergey Kovalev, the former light-heavyweight champion, thinks Dmitry Bivol will beat Artur Beterbiev in their upcoming fight. The two Russian boxers will face off on October 12 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, to decide the undisputed light-heavyweight champion.

Bivol, the WBA champion, has racked up impressive wins against Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, Gilberto Ramirez, Lyndon Arthur, and Malik Zinad. He's known for his skill, movement, focus, and smart boxing style.

On the other hand, Beterbiev brings devastating power and calculated precision to the ring. He's the only active world champion with a 100% knockout ratio, having stopped all his opponents so far. Beterbiev has successfully defended his unified titles against Marcus Browne, Joe Smith Jr, Anthony Yarde, and Callum Smith.

The light-heavyweight division has seen some legendary fighters like Roy Jones, Andre Ward, and Kovalev himself. Now, Beterbiev and Bivol have cleaned up the 175-pound ranks while waiting to face each other. The winner of this fight will become the first undisputed light-heavyweight champion since Roy Jones.

Kovalev shared his thoughts on the fight with Boxing News:

"It's difficult to make any predictions but [I lean] more to Dmitry, because Dmitry has legs, legs to jump forward and back, forward and back. Movement decides a lot in boxing. It's a Russian saying, the legs feed the wolf."

The fight was initially postponed but has been rescheduled as the main event of a star-studded card. Boxing fans are eager to see who'll come out on top in this clash of Russian champions.