Artur Beterbiev is totally focused on his fight against Dmitry Bivol and not interested in thinking about defending against WBC interim light heavyweight champion David Benavidez next.
IBF, WBC, and WBO champ Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) has tunnel vision, thinking only about his undisputed championship fight against WBA champ Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) on October 12th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Their fight will be shown live on DAZN PPV.
“We’re always training for different things in this fight and always trying to be ready 100%,” said Artur Beterbiev to Fight Hub TV when asked what he’s trained for to prepare for the different looks from Dmitry Bivol.
“I’m not thinking about people. I only need to think about my fight and that’s it,” said Beterbiev on his thoughts about fans viewing him as the underdog due to his age and recent injuries. “I feel young. I’m 39, but I’m young,” said Beterbiev.
The last performance from Beterbeiv against Callum Smith in January showed that he’s still at the top of his game. The only thing we don’t know is if his recent leg injury will be a problem for him next Saturday night against the mobile Bivol. If it were a stationary fighter that Beterbiev were fighting, it wouldn’t be as big a deal, but against a mover like Bivol, it could be a slight problem.
“As long as everything is going well, I’m enjoying this work, this job. I can’t say. If no injuries, I will continue,” said Beterbiev on how much longer he sees himself fighting. “We always prepare for 12 rounds. We never prepare for four rounds or one round. We always prepare for the maximum,” said Beterbiev.
The injuries could be a problem for Beterbiev, who will turn 40 in three months on January 21. Even if Beterbiev is fighting great, if he keeps suffering injury issues, it could keep him on the shelf for long periods, and that will erode his game.
“I never watched his fights because I’m not really a fan of boxing. When I sign for a boxer, I only think for these things,” said Beterbiev when asked if he sees David Benavidez as being a harder fight than Bivol. “I never watch everyone on a day [to day basis].”
David Benavidez is waiting to face the winner of the Beterbiev vs. Bivol fight, and that’s a match that His Excellency Turki Alalshikh is expected to make next. The only thing that could get in the way is if Beterbiev & Bivol fight an immediate rematch or if the winner vacates and moves up to cruiserweight.
That would be the worst nightmare for Benavidez because he would be stuck fighting the vacant WBC belt against the highest ranked available contender, which in this case would be #1 rated Oleksandr Gvozdyk. He just beat him last June in a tough fight.
