Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol are just days away from determining the world’s premier light heavyweight.
Beterbiev and Bivol will clash for the undisputed championship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia in a highly-anticipated battle on Saturday.
Beterbiev, the WBC, WBO and IBF champion, heads in as a very slight underdog with the bookmakers, but brings in a fearsome record of 20 victories all by knockout.
Bivol also puts his unbeaten record on the line, as well as the WBA title and has not lost in 23 professional outings.
Beterbiev is the only world champion in the sport with a 100% knockout ratio and we spoke to a number of fighters who have sparred the 39-year-old Russian to gain an insight on just how hard he hits.
Brandon Glanton
“He hit me in my hip so hard, I felt it in my foot for a week.
“The guy is an incredibly strong puncher.
“It’s like nothing I had ever felt before.”
Lionell Thompson
“I got hit by a car when I was six years old and it reminds me of that.
“When you get hit that hard, your body goes into shock and it’s kind of hard to think.
“You look at the rounds and two rounds feels like 10 rounds.
“It’s brutal man.
“Very disciplined guy. Strong as an ox. Punches extremely hard with both hands.
“Hard to discourage. Can do everything in a ring.
“It’s perfection.”
Steve Geffrard
“His punching power is just amazing
“He’s got good ring IQ.
“It’s going to be hard for anyone to take that for 12 rounds.”
“He’s the real deal.
“It was tough.
“During the camp, a lot of the other guys, either got hurt or quit, didn’t finish the camp.”
Dan Azeez
“He wears 20 ounces, you’ll think there’s more padding, but there’s actually more force, because it’s bigger gloves.
“As the rounds go, it’s like the ring gets smaller and smaller.
“It’s the pressure and the power and then he’s got boxing skill as well.”
Callum Simpson
“He caught me with a good right hand and since then I’ve been fluent in Russian!
“So that’s how hard he hits.
“He’s very fit, strong.
“You see a lot of guys buckle under the pressure he puts on.”
