WBO/WBC/IBF unified champion Artur Beterbiev and WBA ruler Dmitry Bivol met face-to-face at immediately’s kickoff presser in London forward of their undisputed mild heavyweight showdown on Saturday, June 1 at Kingdom Area in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
This battle of 175-pound titans will stream reside and solely on ESPN+ within the U.S. as a particular one-fight broadcast.
Beterbiev-Bivol will probably be promoted by Prime Rank, Queensberry Promotions, Matchroom Boxing, World of Boxing Promotions and Sela.
Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs), boxing’s solely present world champion with a one hundred pc knockout ratio, stopped Enrico Koelling in his twelfth professional struggle to win the IBF world title. He added the WBC championship to his assortment in 2019 with a Tenth-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 professional who captured the WBA interim title with a call victory over Felix Valera in 2016. The next yr, 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. Final December, Bivol fought on the historic “Day of Reckoning” card in Riyadh, shutting out British challenger Lyndon Arthur.
At Monday’s press convention, that is what the fighters needed to say.
Artur Beterbiev
“I simply see one other belt. I’m gathering belts, and I want another.”
“I don’t know why {it’s taken so lengthy to make this struggle}. He is aware of higher. Ask him.”
“We’ll see {if that is the largest problem}. I’m not eager about it. I’m making ready for it. I’ll put together and attempt to be at one hundred pc.”
Dmitry Bivol
“Once I signed a contract to be a professional boxer, I had a objective to change into undisputed. The whole lot that I’ve gone by way of has been for that. I did it to attain my objective. Even the struggle towards Canelo. It was my ticket for giant fights. And now I’m pleased that I’ll have this struggle on June 1 for all of the belts.”
“For each coaching camp, I feel my opponent is essentially the most harmful opponent on this planet. This helps me to be centered and severe in my coaching. After all, he’s certainly one of my most harmful opponents. You see his report and his fights. He’s highly effective. It makes me extra excited to struggle towards him as a result of I really like challenges. I like to be examined. This struggle is a big check for me.”
“Each individual is completely different. Not solely me. I’ve good abilities. I simply consider in my abilities. I’ve been in boxing for 28 years. I’ve been in boxing ever since I can bear in mind. I really like this sport, and I feel my expertise will assist me. And my mentality, abilities, and camp. I consider I may be undisputed.”
Todd duBoef (Prime Rank President)
“I’ve all the time been a fan of destruction. And this man is destruction. Each time you activate the tv, my cellphone would ring and mates from everywhere in the world would name me and say, ‘Who is that this monster?’ And, I feel he will get higher with every struggle.”
Roberto Villa is the CEO, Founder, Government Author, Senior Editor of FightBook MMA. Has a ardour for Fight Sports activities and likewise a podcast host for Sitting Ringside. He’s additionally a former MMA fighter and Kickboxer.
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