1) The contrast in styles
Essentially, what you have with Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol is a meeting of arguably the hardest hitting fighter on the planet and the cleverest technician. To beat one will presumably require the skillset of the other, and vice versa.
2) Elite skills
There are other big fights to be made this year, of that there is no doubt, but few will possess the sheer quality of Beterbiev vs. Bivol when it comes to skills. Together, they throw every shot in the book with a technical correctness and conviction unmatched by most of their peers.
3) Beterbiev’s age
Although it seems Beterbiev, soon to turn 39, is getting better with age, and although certain promoters not promoting him will tell you he is “superhuman” in an accusatory manner, the reality is this: Beterbiev doesn’t have long left at the top level.
4) Bivol’s irrelevance
It’s depressing to think that since beating Saul “Canelo” Alvarez in what should have been his launchpad to bigger fights, Bivol has boxed just twice. Not only that, these fights have both been in the Middle East (first against Gilberto Ramirez and then against Lyndon Arthur) and nobody paid much attention to them.
Bivol stops Lyndon Arthur in Saudi Arabia (Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
5) Two Russians
It won’t be the storyline that sells the fight in America, or indeed anywhere other than Russia, but still it is an interesting part of what makes Beterbiev vs. Bivol so necessary and surely inevitable.
6) Lack of other options
There are of course alternative routes for Beterbiev and Bivol to take, but it is clear now that operating in this manner has a ceiling and that they cannot both continue fighting the likes of Callum Smith, Lyndon Arthur, and Anthony Yarde for much longer.
7) The iron’s hot
While it could be argued that the time to make this fight was just after Bivol had defeated Canelo Alvarez in 2022, it benefits nobody to live with regret. Now, in 2024, with both aware they need each other to secure a proper legacy, the demand for Beterbiev vs. Bivol has never been greater.
8) Beterbiev’s KO run
They say records are there to be broken, and streaks are there to be stopped, yet until Artur Beterbiev faces an opponent who possesses the durability and all-round ability to prevent him knocking them out, it is hard to see how or when his run of 20 straight stoppage wins will end.
Artur Beterbiev cracks Callum Smith with a right hand (Mathieu Belanger/Getty Images)
9) Bivol’s brilliance
While Artur Beterbiev is a language easily understood, the same cannot be said for Dmitry Bivol, who, despite his ridiculous talent, is a fighter who needs to be challenged in order for his style to make sense in the eyes of casual fans.
10) Middle East money
Let’s not kid ourselves: the reason why this fight and others like it are probably going to happen this year is because finally someone is willing to pay the two boxers enough money to have them ignore their fears and put their egos to one side. In the end, it comes down to nothing more than that.
Turki Al-Sheikh (Justin Setterfield/Getty Images)
