4 Best Opponents for Artur Beterbiev After Win vs. Anthony Yarde
Artur Beterbiev is getting to be one of those sure-thing types.
The Russian-born, Canadian-based light heavyweight has evolved into one of the sport's most consistent menaces, and he was back at it Saturday, registering both his 19th straight win and KO with an eighth-round stoppage of Anthony Yarde in London.
The late-blooming 38-year-old maintained possession of three 175-pound title belts and will presumably stay in the running for full-fledged spots on recognized pound-for-pound lists, considering he was included as an honorable mention alongside Boxing Scene's top 10 in December.
"I think Artur is one of the most underrated guys in the game in terms of his skills," assistant trainer John Scully told Bleacher Report. "He doesn't have flashy skills, of course, but his boxing technique is first class for sure."
The win also continued discussion about who might come next, and the B/R combat staff jumped into the discussion with both feet, looking both at the chalk suggestions and pondering those who could become significant possibilities if results and circumstances break in certain directions.
They're presented in the order that they could, in theory, occur.
Take a look at what we came up with and hit us with a thought or two of your own.
1. Callum Smith
1 of 4
OK, it's not the pick everyone would make. But given boxing's endless string of mandatory defenses and other sanctioning-body nonsense, it's pretty realistic.
And come to think of it, it's not a terrible fight either.
Callum Smith was a respected world champion at 168 pounds and won three title fights there between 2018 and '19 before running into the body-punching nightmare that is Canelo Alvarez.
Smith lost nearly every competitive moment of their 12-rounder in 2020 but has since rebuilt his brand with a move to light heavyweight, where he's scored two KOs in a combined six rounds and, more importantly, became the WBC's mandatory challenger in the weight class.
Beterbiev, thanks to his destruction of Yarde, is still the WBC champion.
"Callum Smith is the mandatory," WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman told Boxing Scene before Beterbiev fought Yarde. "(Smith is) allowed to do an interim fight because Beterbiev is gonna do the WBO mandatory. The winner must fight Callum Smith."
And though there are other options Beterbiev might prefer to pursue first, Smith could easily become the next man up given promotional hang-ups that often torpedo fight plans.
At 6'3" with a 78-inch reach, Smith would hold considerable size advantages over Beterbiev and has the technical acumen to keep distance and win a tactical fight. He's also appeared stronger at 175 than he'd been at 168, so the prospect of engaging with the champion, while not advisable, may not be quite the anathema these days than it may have been.
2. Dmitry Bivol
2 of 4
Once again, it's only because the list in being presented in practical order that this one is second. Because if you play word association with a fight fan and mention Beterbiev's name, the next word to come out of their mouth is predictable:
Bivol.
That's Dmitry Bivol, who's held the missing piece of the light heavyweight puzzle, from Beterbiev's perspective at least, for nearly two years,
The 32-year-old became a lower-tier WBA champion in 2017 before elevating to "super" status in 2021, but he was anything but a household name prior to last May's shocker over Canelo Alvarez, when the ambitious super middleweight looked to reclaim past status at 175.
Instead, Bivol did a comprehensive 12-round number on him, winning by just a narrow margin on the scorecards but demonstrating a genius-level ring IQ, sublime footwork and use of angles to go with noticeable advantages in size and hand speed.
The win elevated Bivol to nearly unanimous pound-for-pound status and ratcheted up interest for a fight with Beterbiev. After all, they're both champions, they're both undefeated, they're both Russian, and they're both really good.
"Bivol vs. Beterbiev is one of the most anticipated fights in the whole world," former champion Evander Holyfield told Boxing Scene. "I think this fight will be exciting. It is important that everything is resolved in order to organize this fight."
Of course, this being boxing, that "everything is resolved" line sticks out.
Bivol works with Eddie Hearn's Matchroom Boxing promotion, which has an exclusive content deal with DAZN. Beterbiev, meanwhile, is promoted by Top Rank, which has an exclusive content deal with ESPN. Top Rank boss Bob Arum has said previously that any fight between the two would have to air on ESPN, but he's certainly intrigued.
"Beterbiev looks like he's impregnable," Arum told Boxing Scene. "Guys can hit him and it doesn't seem to affect him. He always seems to find a way to knock somebody out."
3. Canelo Alvarez
3 of 4
Into every boxing life, some Canelo must fall.
Though he's no longer the first name on pound-for-pound lists, Canelo Alvarez remains the most recognizable and bankable commodity in the sport thanks to a career that's seen him win titles at 154, 160, 168 and 175 pounds.
The loss to Bivol last spring was an unexpected bump and sent him scurrying back to 168 to till old ground with Gennady Golovkin, but a Bivol rematch has been widely discussed as a priority for the Mexican star, now 32, who's been a pro since 2005.
If it comes off before a Bivol-Beterbiev bout and Canelo wins it, then it's hardly rocket science to suggest Alvarez would have Beterbiev on his radar. And if Beterbiev beats Bivol and is looking for a big-name opponent to further the agenda, no one's bigger.
And whaddya know? They've already laid the competitive chatter foundation.
"Canelo is undoubtedly a good fighter, he has the technique, he works nicely in the ring, and he has a good punch," Beterbiev told SunSport before the Bivol fight. "I am sure that would be a mega-fight. It will be one of the huge events over the last years."
And as for Arum, color him intrigued, too.
"Canelo is a risk-taker and that makes him so popular," he told SkySports. "It would be a massive fight because the betting action would go both ways. Some will say Beterbiev is too big and powerful. Others will say Canelo is special and can handle everybody. It is one of the biggest fights in boxing."
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
4. Oleksandr Usyk
4 of 4
File this one away in the "maybe someday" folder.
Though it seems ludicrous to suggest a reigning light heavyweight champion would have a reigning heavyweight champion on his fighting agenda, a closer examination reveals that Beterbiev and Oleksandr Usyk aren't as far apart as you might think.
Usyk is a three-belt champion in the sport's big-boy division, but he was a cruiserweight not long ago and, at 6'3" and 220 pounds, is far from a physical giant in the ring.
Beterbiev, meanwhile, is indeed shorter with a lesser reach than his would-be Ukrainian counterpart, but the gaps aren't any more vast than Usyk overcame twice against a 6'6", 240-pound Anthony Joshua.
And they did meet three times in the ring as amateurs.
Beterbiev won the first in 2007 before losing consecutive decisions to Usyk at the AIBA world championships in 2011 and the Summer Olympics in London in 2012.
Beterbiev scored a knockdown and repeatedly hurt Usyk in the middle fight and has expressed interest in a pro rematch if it could be staged in the middle ground between their weight divisions.
Confidence, too, doesn't seem to be an issue.
"Very happy if this fight happens in the professionals," Beterbiev told iD Boxing. "I believe I can give him something in the professionals. I can give him very good fight. I don't want to say I will beat him, even if I will beat him, I don't want to say it."
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
