Today we are gonna start our new Bi-Weekly series profiling my favorites fighters in the sport of boxing..

We’re starting the Series off with Unified Light Heavyweight (IBF, WBC & WBO) World Champion Artur Beterbiev of Montreal, Canada by way of Russia.. The 38-year old Beterbiev stands just under 6-feet with a 73 inch Arm reach. He sports a record of 19-0 with all 19 wins coming by way of knockout. Artur also represented Russia twice in the Olympics in both 2008 & 2012 before turning Pro in 2013 at age 28. Artur is trained by renowned Canadian coach Marc Ramsay who also led the careers of Oscar Rivas, David Lemieux, Jean Pascal & Eleider Alvarez just to name a few. He also is currently leading the charge of current 168lb top contender Christian Mbilli..

Being as blunt as possible, Artur Beterbiev is the biggest, most destructive puncher in the sport of boxing.. He systematically beats his opponent to the body and then their heads don’t move. I personally know 2 guys that have been in his training camp as sparring partners and both say he’s the hardest puncher they’ve ever been in with. One of these fighters has been in camps with the likes of GGG, Kovalev and Andre Ward (fought Ward early in his career too). The other guy said, he’d probably pass on an invite to return to camp with Beterbiev.. One well-respected manager has stated publicly that many of his colleagues are reluctant to send their guys to camps up in Canada with Artur because they don’t come back the same as they went there. Many times leaving those wars with broken bones and other injuries. The big Canadian-Russian home run hitter’s training regimen is legendary having millions of YouTube views..

I’ve seen Beterbiev live twice.. The first time in late 2019 at Temple’s Liacouras Center, I watched his systematic beat down of reigning WBC Champion Oleksandr Gvodzyk of the Ukraine in a Unification match.. Artur stopped and retired the Champ in round 10. Gvodzyk was the man that beat the man retiring Adonis Stevenson before him with a brutal KO that put Adonis in the hospital for months.. Gvodzyk only recently returned to the ring earlier this year after more than 3 years out of the sport.. My second view of Artur was last summer at the MSG Theater room in NYC in another unification match against WBO Champion Joe Smith Jr of Long Island.. Joe was also known for his huge punch after retiring Philly legend Bernard Hopkins sending him flying out of the ring. Man was Artur impressive in this 2-round destruction of Joe. Smith stepped to Beterbiev almost immediately causing Artur to box off the back foot and become a counterpuncher, something we hadn’t seen from him to date. He walked Joe into hard shots dropping smith 3 times before referee Harvey Dock mercifully waved the fight off.. It took Beterbiev just over 5 minutes to dispose of Joe Smith, one of the most durable fighters in the sport..

So what’s next for Artur? He’s scheduled for an August 19 showdown in Quebec City, Quebec with the 3rd ranked fighter in the division in WBC Mandatory challenger Callum Smith of the UK. Smith is a dangerous opponent and former WBA & lineal champion at 168. He’s 29-1 with 21 stoppages. His only loss on record was to Canelo in his last fight at 68. He stands 6-foot-3 (maybe taller) with a 78 inch reach. Since moving to 75, the 33-year old Brit has sparked out two contenders in quick fashion. Should be another violent night in Canada. Is this the guy that finally gets through the wall known as Beterbiev?? We’ll find out soon enough.

What options does Artur have should he get past Smith? There are 3 that come to mind. If boxing politics don’t get in the way (they likely will though), there’s the undisputed showdown with Russian countryman Dmitry Bivol, who holds the WBA title.. Problem here is WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman is claiming he won’t sanction that match due to the Russian invasion in Ukraine.. He basically wants Bivol to denounce his Russian Nationality in an appeal process and says that he considers Beterbiev, his current champion at the weight, to be a Canadian citizen citing his Canadian passport and his more than 15-year residency up North.. Add this complication to the fact that Bob Arum, Artur’s Promoter at Top Rank doesn’t see the fight doing big business in the states due to the high purses both would require in such a big fight. This would be a Middle East type fight and I’m willing to bet Bob would be on board if he was spending OPM (Other People’s Money).. Option 2 would be to satisfy his IBF mandatory in Michael Eifert of Germany. Honestly this would be a gross mismatch but it would get the sanctioning body from New Jersey off his back.. Option 3 is the most intriguing of the 3 for me, a showdown at Cruiserweight with action fighter Badou Jack, whose now a 3 time/3 weight world champion.

Both Jack & Beterbiev practice Islam so this would be a natural match for the Middle East, the area of the world with the largest Muslim population.. Beterbiev’s camp has also said prior that they would like to make a Cruiserweight run before he retires. The 39 year old Jack has recently relocated his family from Vegas to Dubai. Badou hails from Sweden via Africa’s Gambia.. The winner of this fight would likely solidify Hall of Fame status in the sport.

Hope you’ve learned about one of my favorite fighters today.. Artur Beterbiev, the most feared fighter in the sport of boxing.. — AA