Despite having a similar past, Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol maintain that their conflict is about everything rather than themselves.
Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev both assert that there is no personal stake in this dispute. Throughout the last week before their fight, they have maintained a steely calm.
They have spent their entire careers working towards this moment, and because they have been friends for years, the tension is increased even more.
Beterbiev, a strong heavyweight, and Bivol, a younger fighter, were both members of the same Russian national amateur squad.
At 75 kg, Bivol was not the first choice, although Beterbiev was an Olympian and the gold medallist at the World Championship.
However, Beterbiev did not clarify if he has always believed that he is the more powerful and larger boxer.
About his previous relationship with Bivol, he remarked, “We knew each other but we didn’t talk.” “We practiced sparring, but not in the traditional sense.
“I had goals back then. Prior to Saturday’s Riyadh Season tournament, he said to media, “I only have my next opponent in mind.”
‘ But as of right now, I just have one opponent. I had a lot of guys there at that time as well.”
Additionally insistent that he cannot let the personal element to affect him is Bivol. That is the task he must complete.
It’s only the man. For me, four belts is a different [thing]. Naturally, I’ll give it my all in the hopes of winning.
Not just [defeating] him, of course, but also earning those four belts will bring me delight. He was an excellent fighter, with a 100% knockout ratio. However, nothing intimate.”
