Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol meet for the undisputed light heavyweight title later this month in one of the most eagerly anticipated fights of the year.
The winner of the fight will become the undisputed champion of the division and claim to be one of the very best pound-for-pound fighters in the world.
The showdown is a close one to call, but speaking to talkSPORT, a former champion at that weight, Roy Jones Jr, has given his prediction for a winner.
Jones Jr. believes we're in for an entertaining evening but thinks one fighter has a slim advantage over the other.
He said: "That's a very, very good fight, and I have a hard time predicting it. I've heard that the guys have sparred a few times, and one of them may have gotten the better of the other, but I don't know. In theory, if I didn't know that they had sparred before I would pick Bivol.
Beterbiev vs. Bivol fight card |
|---|
|
"Because Beterbiev is a puncher, and if he can hit Bivol, he'll knock him out for sure. Because to me, Beterbiev is one of the best pound-for-pound punchers this game has ever seen. If he can hurt Bivol with his punches, if he can catch him then he has a chance.
"But what people fail to realise is that Beterbiev has been down three or four times already. That's usually the weakness of the strong punchers, they don't take as good as they get. So when there's a superb puncher like Julian Jackson, Gerald McClellan took him out, Mike McCullum took him out. He was a big-time puncher, but these guys don't beat him on decision - they knock him out. Because he gives a good punch, but he doesn't take the best punch.
"So that being said, Beterbiev is a good puncher, but I don't know if he takes a good punch because he's been down three or four times in nearly twenty fights. If you've been down that much in twenty fights, there's a problem there.
"I really think Bivol has the advantage and I'll go with him."
Watch Beterbiev vs. Bivol and huge undercard on DAZN
Watch Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol and the full fight card on October 12 on DAZN Pay-Per-View, which includes Fabio Wardley, Frazer Clark, Chris Eubank Jr, Jai Opetaia, Ben Whittaker and Skye Nicolson all fighting.
The PPV is priced at £19.99 for UK viewers. To purchase and find the prices in your region click here.
Purchasing the PPV includes a seven-day free trial of all of DAZN's programming across a range of sports.
DAZN is home of boxing, showing over 150 fights a year, broadcasting a variety of boxing programming - press conferences, weigh-ins, exclusive interviews, documentaries and much more - week in, week out, 52 weeks a year from all around the world, in all divisions, at all levels.
More Boxing
- Boxing full schedule and calendar
- DAZN's upcoming Boxing shows
- Boxing rankings
- Boxing champions list in every division
- Fighter profiles and highlights
- How do weight classes work?
- What are the major boxing titles?
- How is boxing scored?