22Feb
The undisputed light heavyweight champion is a well-oiled machine at this point in his Professional career, and a win in Saturday’s rematch with Dmitry Bivol would make the 40-year-old Potentially an all-time great.
At 40, Beterbiev (21–0) is one of the top fighters in the world. He has been a world champion since 2017, a unified titleholder since ’19 and last October defeated Bivol (23–1) to collect all four of the division's belts. He is the second oldest champion in boxing, trailing just Erislandy Lara chronologically.
Age hasn’t eroded Beterbiev—it’s made him better. His best wins have come when most fighters’ careers are over. In 2022, he steamrolled the iron-chinned Joe Smith in two rounds. In ’24, he blew out Callum Smith in seven. Bivol went the 12-round distance with Beterbiev—the first fighter in Beterbiev’s pro career to hear the last bell—but absorbed a lot of heavy punches doing it.
“If you have long term in boxing it means you have good experience.”
Beterbiev has plenty of experience. Born in Dagestan, a mountainous region on the southernmost tip of Russia, Beterbiev was raised in a literal war zone. He grew up street fighting before eventually being pushed into a gym.
He had a decorated amateur career, racking up medals at European and World Championships, representing Russia in two Olympics. He moved to Montreal in 2013, teaming up with veteran trainer Marc Ramsey, who has guided Beterbiev throughout his pro career.
“We can change nothing in the past. The future, we try to change something, if I can. All my 21 fights, before each, I want to do better.
There is no one thing, it's big things, it's small things. And if we correct little things here and there, everything will go well.”Beterbiev expantiated.
The rematch with Bivol is a big fight. But it won’t be Beterbiev’s last. A loss could lead to a rubber match later this year. A win could push Beterbiev into a showdown with David Benavidez. He’s open to a move to cruiserweight.
There’s even the possibility of a matchup with heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, who Beterbiev fought three times in the amateur ranks. Last year, Beterbiev publicly challenged Jake Paul.
“I Persue this as a job,” says Beterbiev. “It’s not like someone forced me to do this. I persue this job by myself. I want to do this, I want to Efficiently continue my Career.”
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