Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol met at kickoff presser
WBO/WBC/IBF unified champion Artur Beterbiev and WBA ruler Dmitry Bivol met face-to-face at the kickoff presser in London ahead of their undisputed light heavyweight showdown on Saturday, June 1 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
This battle of 175-pound titans will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ in the U.S. as a special one-fight broadcast.
Beterbiev-Bivol will be promoted by Top Rank, Queensberry Promotions, Matchroom Boxing, World of Boxing Promotions and Sela.Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs), boxing’s only current world champion with a 100 percent knockout ratio, stopped Enrico Koelling in his 12th pro fight to win the IBF world title. He added the WBC championship to his collection in 2019 with a 10th-round TKO over Oleksandr Gvozdyk and captured the WBO strap in 2022 by stopping Joe Smith Jr. in two rounds. He returns after vanquishing former world champion Callum Smith in seven rounds in January.
Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs) is a 10-year pro who captured the WBA interim title with a decision victory over Felix Valera in 2016. The following year, he was elevated to full champion and has since made 11 defenses with victories over the likes of Jean Pascal, Smith Jr., Sullivan Barrera and Canelo Alvarez. Last December, Bivol fought on the historic “Day of Reckoning” card in Riyadh, shutting out British challenger Lyndon Arthur.
At Monday’s press conference, this is what the fighters had to say.
Artur Beterbiev: “I just see another belt. I’m collecting belts, and I need one more.
“I don’t know why [it’s taken so long to make this fight]. He knows better. Ask him.
“We’ll see [if this is the biggest challenge]. I’m not thinking about it. I’m preparing for it. I will prepare and try to be at 100 percent.”
Dmitry Bivol: “When I signed a contract to be a pro boxer, I had a goal to become undisputed. Everything that I have gone through has been for that. I did it to achieve my goal. Even the fight against Canelo. It was my ticket for big fights. And now I’m happy that I will have this fight on June 1 for all the belts.
“For every training camp, I think my opponent is the most dangerous opponent in the world. This helps me to be focused and serious in my training. Of course, he’s one of my most dangerous opponents. You see his record and his fights. He is powerful. It makes me more excited to fight against him because I love challenges. I love to be tested. This fight is a huge test for me.
“Every person is different. Not only me. I have good skills. I just believe in my skills. I have been in boxing for 28 years. I’ve been in boxing ever since I can remember. I love this sport, and I think my experience will help me. And my mentality, skills, and camp. I believe I can be undisputed.”
Todd duBoef (Top Rank President): “I’ve always been a fan of destruction. And this guy [Beterbiev] is destruction. Every time you turn on the television, my phone would ring and friends from all over the world would call me and say, ‘Who is this monster?’ And, I think he gets better with each fight.”
The undercard of the historic boxing event will feature the highly anticipated Matchroom-Queensberry 5 vs 5 series:
Deontay Wilder vs Zhilei Zhang
Filip Hrgovic vs Daniel Dubois
Ammo Williams vs Hamzah Sheeraz
Ray Ford vs Nick Ball
Craig Richards vs Willy Hutchinson