Tremendous middleweight contender Lonnie Thompson predicts a quick knockout victory for unified mild heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev over WBA champ Dmitry Bivol on October twelfth of their undisputed championship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Lonnie has sparred with IBF, WBC, and WBO champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) earlier than and is aware of firsthand how highly effective and proficient he’s. He feels that Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) is simply too small and weak to carry off Beterbiev of their headliner, dwell on DAZN PPV on the Kingdom Enviornment.
Bivol Overrated, Beterbiev Underrated
The followers and oddsmakers who’ve Bivol as their favourite aren’t aware of Beterbiev. They’re overrating Dmitry from his win over Canelo Alvarez two years in the past, making extra of that battle than they need to.
Thompson was impressed by Beterbiev’s current seventh-round knockout win over former WBA tremendous middleweight champion Callum Smith on January thirteenth in Quebec Metropolis. Beterbiev fully overwhelmed the massive puncher Smith, who Thompson feels has the scale to compete at cruiserweight.
“I’m excited for the battle. It’s going to be on. You already know who I’m going to be rocking with Beterbiev. I don’t assume it’s going to go previous seven or eight,” mentioned Lonnie Thompson to Professional Boxing Followers, choosing Artur Beterbiev to defeat Dmitry Bivol on October twelfth of their mild heavyweight undisputed championship battle in Riyadh.
Lonnie feels that Bivol doesn’t transfer practically properly sufficient to maintain Beterbiev from reducing off the ring on him and trapping him into exchanges, which he’s not designed for towards one of these puncher. Lyndon Arthur harm Bivol throughout their battle final December and fought cautiously within the second half of the battle.
Bivol Can’t Escape Stress
“I may very well be flawed, however I doubt it. Someone who’s like Callum Smith, who’s extraordinarily massive, who may actually probably battle at cruiserweight,” mentioned Lonnie. “Artur bought him out of there in seven [last January]. Bivol may actually battle at tremendous middleweight.”
Bivol would have been higher off combating at tremendous middleweight all these years as a result of he’d have made extra money combating Canelo, David Benavidez, and different prime fighters at 168. If Bivol loses this battle badly to Beterbiev, as Lonnie predicts, shifting to 168 is likely to be an choice for him to discover to avoid wasting his profession.
“In my view, he [Bivol] doesn’t transfer that properly for extra rounds than that, and Artur cuts off the ring extraordinarily properly, and simply the beating on them on the shoulders and the hips, and I believe Bivol goes to get stopped comparatively quick,” mentioned Lonnie.
Beterbiev fights exceptionally properly on the within and does properly towards fighters who throw mixtures, which is Bivol’s specialty. If Bivol goes to throw jabs and transfer away, it gained’t work properly for him as a result of, as Lonnie says, Beterbiev cuts off the ring properly, and he’ll lure him in exchanges. With Beterbiev’s energy, it doesn’t take lengthy for him to knockout fighters, even after they run like Bivol will certainly be doing.
“When you’ve gotten that many beginner fights and also you’re that good, layoffs imply nothing,” mentioned Thompson when requested if Beterbiev’s layoff will have an effect on him for the Bivol battle. “Simply have a look at what he’s doing. First, they mentioned, ‘Beterbiev is getting previous.’ He fights at 39 years previous and crushes Callum Smith.”
Beterbiev hasn’t been off for that lengthy. He simply fought final January, his second battle in 2024. The layoff isn’t the query. It’s whether or not Beterbiev’s not too long ago injured knee is totally robust sufficient for him to battle laborious for a full battle.
“‘Oh properly, he’s getting higher,’ however now it’s, ‘Possibly it’s the layoff now.’ The person is simply good. Recover from it. Hear he’s a freak of nature. His age don’t matter,” mentioned Thompson mentioned about Beterbiev. “He’s that good.”
