Artur Beterbiev Vs. Dmitry Bivol: Odds, Records, Prediction

There hasn’t been an undisputed light heavyweight champion since Roy Jones held the three recognized belts at the end of the last century. Barring a draw on Saturday, either Artur Beterbiev or Dmitry Bivol will hold all four titles after the two face off in Saudi Arabia. And it could be the best fight of the year. Here’s everything you need to know about Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol, including the odds, their records and a prediction on who will win.

Beterbiev and Bivol have been trying to make this fight for more than year. But Beterbiev has dealt with multiple injuries, postponing the chance for a true 175-pound king to emerge. Now the 39-year-old Beterbiev, who is coming off knee surgery earlier this year, apparently is healthy (or at least as healthy as he’s going to be), and Bivol is coming off a string of impressive victories (including a dominating win vs. pound-for-pound fighter Canelo Alvarez).

This could end up being the best fight of the year. Even if Beterbiev isn’t at his physical peak, the fact these two are battling for the undisputed light heavyweight champion has him ready to perform.

“It’s top of the meaning in professional boxing when you have four belts, and that’s it,” said Beterbiev, who already has three of the 175-poud belts. “I want to win a fourth one. We have prepared for this fight, to be ready for everything.”

Bivol said that as well. In his head during training, Bivol said he visualized every scenario that could occur in the bout. He said that kind of visualization keeps him calm, because he’s ready for anything. Though observers might believe Beterbiev’s best chance is to win by KO and Bivol’s best chance is to outbox his opponent, Beterbiev is also a skillful boxer and Bivol has solid power.

Bivol could win by stoppage, and Beterbiev could win by decision. Or it could be the other way around. Either way, Bivol wants to make sure that he performs as perfectly as he can.

“I wanted the undisputed fight, first, and I wanted to fight against the best boxers in the light heavyweight division,” Bivol said. “This is my goal, to make my name in this sport. He has these belts.

“This is my goal when I came to pro boxing, to be the best in the light heavyweight division and this is the final fight to prove myself. What it means for me? I’ve been in boxing since I was 6 years old. All my journey, I was working hard. I sacrificed so much in my life. This is the final step. Did I do everything right or not? I want to make it that I did everything right.”

Here’s more info on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol showdown that U.S. viewers can watch on ESPN+ beginning at 6 p.m. ET on Saturday (the rest of the undercard can be streamed on DAZN).

Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol odds

Boxing observers have been split pretty much 50-50 on who will win this bout, and the betting odds are saying the same thing with Bivol as the -138 betting favorite (bet $138 to win $100) and Beterbiev as the +110 underdog (win $110 on a $100 wager). Taking Beterbiev to win by stoppage is +175 (and him winning by decision is +700), while Bivol’s odds to win by decision is +120 (him winning by stoppage is +600).

If you were looking for a fun parlay for this weekend’s action of boxing (and this is only for entertainment purposes), I might take Bivol to beat Beterbiev at -138, Jai Opetaia to stop Jack Massey at -400 and Skye Nicolson to beat Raven Chapman by decision at -400. If all those hit, you’d earn a $170 profit on a $100 wager.

Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol records

It’s hard to beat Beterbiev’s record of 20-0 with 20 KOs. The longest any opponent has lasted was Enrico Koelling, who made it to the 12^th round but didn’t see the final bell in 2017. In Beterbiev’s most high-profile wins, he stopped Oleksandr Gvozdyk in the 10^th, Joe Smith Jr. in the second, Anthony Yarde in the eighth and Callum Smith in the seventh. For what it’s worth, Bivol has not been knocked down in a professional fight.

Though Beterbiev certainly has a few solid wins, Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) has an even better resume. His biggest win came vs. Canelo Alvarez in 2022 and then he out-boxed and out-powered Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez later that year. He also has impressive wins against Smith and Sullivan Barrera.

Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol prediction

Bivol has been a little more active, and he’s faced better competition than Beterbiev. Yes, Beterbiev has pulverizing power, but Bivol has shown he can stay away from hard punchers and win 12-round decisions (and I wouldn’t even be shocked if Bivol wobbles Beterbiev). That’s what he’ll do on Saturday. Say Bivol by decision, somewhere in the 116-112 range.