Undefeated IBF and WBC light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev defends his titles against Marcus Browne on Friday at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada (8 p.m., ESPN+).
The 36-year-old Beterbiev is 16-for-16 in knocking out opponents in his professional career. He's ESPN's No. 1-ranked light heavyweight in the world for a reason. Browne (24-1, 16 KOs), 31, represents one of the more significant challenges of Beterbiev's career to date. His lone loss, to Jean Pascal in 2019, came by technical decision after an accidental headbutt in Round 8 ended that fight prematurely.
Beterbiev could be on the precipice of long-awaited unification bouts against either Dmitry Bivol or Joe Smith Jr. in 2022, provided he takes care of business against Browne.
Two-division world champion and ESPN boxing analyst Timothy Bradley Jr. breaks down how these two light heavyweights line up ahead of Saturday's fight.
Beterbiev has embodied every bit of the word power in his professional career, recording 16 knockouts in 16 fights and going beyond Round 7 only three times. Beterbiev has showed the type of punching power that puts him up there with some of the heaviest punchers in light heavyweight history -- Bob Foster, Archie Moore and even Bob Fitzsimmons. All of these men had those erasers, that one-punch knockout power.
That power means more than having the ability to knock opponents out. It also tends to mean you can extend your career, because the faster you can get rid of a foe, the less damage you will sustain over time.
Being on the other side of that kind of punch means something very different. I had the pleasure and honor of sharing the ring with some dangerous punchers, like Manny Pacquiao and Juan Manuel Marquez. One other fighter I will never forget, who was a Russian like Beterbiev, was Ruslan Provodnikov.
I remember the feeling I had in 2013 after being hit on the chin by a Provodnikov right hand in Round 12 of our fight. On impact, it felt like time stopped for a second. I felt stuck in between reality and an eerie space -- like I knew I was alive, but had no understanding or control of my body. When I hit the canvas after being pushed down, my sense of awareness heightened. It was then I realized exactly what had happened.
Ringing, buzzing sounds echoed in my head and ears as I got back to my feet. My legs were heavy and quickly became jelly. My equilibrium was way off, and while I rose to my feet again, my head was cloudy and balance still slightly off. I made it to the end of that round, but absorbing that kind of power is an unbelievable experience.
Power is generated from the ground up -- it's kinetic energy. It's about technique. But some guys are simply blessed with power innately. The difference between powerful guys who do well in boxing and the ones who rise to a championship level is the work that is put in and how well they can harness that power. It's how they improve technique, by working on balance and rotation, coordinating everything between their upper body and legs.
Beterbiev has all of that -- the natural power, and the experience and technique to deliver it. Sixteen knockouts in 16 fights is obviously an eye-popping number, but it's the result of work he's been putting in since before he ever turned pro, with an amateur pedigree that includes over 100 fights. He knows how to deliver his punches in the right spots, at the right times, at the right distance.
Midrange is where Beterbiev typically likes to land, where he's the most comfortable. He's not one of the taller fighters in the light heavyweight division, who likes to land shots from the outside because their power is on the end of the punches. Beterbiev is just under 6-foot, and with a little less reach than some of those other top light heavyweights, he likes to be in a little bit closer -- the shorter the punch for him, the harder it's going to be. Midrange is where he likes to operate, and that's where he's going to do most of his damage.
To quantify how big of a puncher he is, even a grazing blow can be dangerous. In the first round against Adam Deines, he threw a short right hand at the start of a combo that just grazed Deines head, and Deines went down.
What can Browne do to combat the power of Beterbiev?
Marcus Browne, left, hits Badou Jack during a WBA light heavyweight boxing bout Saturday, Jan. 19, 2019, in Las Vegas. John Locher/AP Photo
For Browne, it's going to boil down to him avoiding the hammer, and how long he can avoid those big punches. Browne definitely has the ability to outbox Beterbiev, and he has a 2½-inch reach advantage. He has enough skill and style to give Beterbiev problems.
It's all about moving and controlling the center of the ring, staying off the ropes, and staying free and clear of engaging in that dangerous range where Beterbiev likes to live. Browne needs to avoid trading punches with Beterbiev, because that's a game Browne can't win. Browne needs to be clean with his work, use the jab, sticking to the outside and keep turning. Browne needs to do that all night long, because there's no room for any lapses. His eyes have to be wide open for 12 rounds, or however long the fight lasts.
1dMichael Rothstein
Beterbiev isn't invincible. A couple of guys have gotten to him, knocked him down, and you can hurt Beterbiev if you can find the right spots. You can penetrate his defense if you do it right. He's not a guy who has superior defense; he'll shell up and use the high guard to deflect shots and block shots, and then he'll come back with his offense. But he's not a fighter who's slick, or someone you're going to have a hard time hitting at all.
Browne may be surprised how often he's going to be able to hit Beterbiev. But that doesn't mean he needs to get too comfortable at any point in the fight, and the most dangerous thing that could happen to Browne could be if he gets too greedy. One, two, maybe even a three-punch combination occasionally. But then Browne has to get out of there. If he sits there exchanging with Beterbiev, that's a ticking time bomb. All it takes is one punch from Beterbiev, and if that right hand connects with Browne in that southpaw stance, it's goodnight.
What tools does Beterbiev have beyond his raw power?
Artur Beterbiev has two of the four major titles in the light heavyweight division. Mikey Williams/Top Rank
It's hard to stop a tank that just keeps coming forward, and Beterbiev does that well. But that's not all he does. Even if he doesn't land that one punishing blow, he can also be a butcher and just chop you up little by little. Beterbiev is very powerful, but he can be cerebral as well. He's not just out there throwing caution to the wind. Beterbiev's actually trying to break you down and trying to knock you out all at once, depending on what you show him.
He'll go from blitzing, and then he'll be a little craftier and set up his next shot. And then he'll pressure him again and alternate between those two stages, back and forth, until he finally breaks you down and gets you exactly where he wants you. He wants you to be still so that he can knock you out.
How does the fight play out?
I think it's going to take Beterbiev some time to get to Browne. Browne tends to start off fights kind of quick, and he's pretty good at controlling range and distance. Being a southpaw could make things a bit difficult for Beterbiev in the early rounds. If you look at Deines, who was Beterbiev's most recent opponent, he was able to get the fight into Round 10, which is a point in the fight only three guys have gotten to against Beterbiev in his career.
Browne should be able to get himself into the second half of this fight, as long as he can control the distance, box and not get too greedy. He'll have to show some toughness and some grit as well, because there are going to be spots where he's going to have to bite down, when Beterbiev closes the distance on him, and throws some of those big punches to the body.
In those moments, we're really going to see how bad Browne really wants it. His previous fights don't give me a lot to go on there. I've seen Browne get hurt in the past by a lesser puncher than Beterbiev, and when he's been hurt, he's struggled to bite down and get back into the fight.
Beterbiev being the hunter he is, with that killer mentality, I think he's going to start the damage early, and then I think he's going to catch Browne with something that will hurt him, and then he'll stop him. I say this fight goes no more than eight rounds, with Beterbiev winning by KO.
There's been talk of a unification bout between Beterbiev and fellow undefeated Russian lightweight world titleholder Dmitry Bivol in 2022. How do they match up?
Dmitry Bivol, another light heavyweight titleholder, is a future opponent for Artur Beterbiev. Dylan Buell/Getty Images
Bivol has better feet, better balance. He stays within himself. Bivol's style is very disciplined. He fights behind a really good jab, doubles, triples it up, changes levels with it. Bivol does a lot of good things, but he's missing what Beterbiev has with that killer instinct and that devastating power.
I think it would be a great fight stylistically. It's a classic matchup of the boxer and the power puncher. Two guys who are undefeated, world champions, and they can figure out who the better man is in the ring with so much on the line. I don't know who I would favor honestly. Bivol's a little younger, he turns 31 on Dec. 18, and he's stayed pretty healthy. Beterbiev will be 37 in January.
Bivol has shown some holes in this game as well. He beat Joe Smith Jr., but Smith hurt him in that fight. That's one of those fights that's anybody's ballgame.
SOURCE : espn
