Eddie Hearn Praises Artur Beterbiev: “Youβre Fighting A Guy Thatβs Not Human”
Eddie Hearn has nothing but praise for Artur Beterbiev following his stoppage win over Callum Smith.
Entering the fight, Hearn had confidence in Smith that he would be able to pull off the upset. However, Beterbiev dominated the fight from start-to-finish and got the stoppage which impressed Hearn.
βYouβre fighting a guy thatβs not human,β Hearn told Boxing News. βHeβs not breathing, every short hurts. Even in the clinches you see how strong he is. Iβm not sure anything like it before really. Itβs like itβs not right. Itβs like an unfair advantage. I thought Beterbiev was good defensively tonight as well. He was a lot more switched on and sharp because I think he knew about the power of Callum Smith.β
With Artur Beterbiev getting the win, it’s expected he will face Dmitry Bivol next time out. It’s an intriguing matchup and Hearn, who also promotes Bivol believes his technical striking could be the difference.
βI always back our guys. I truly believed Callum Smith would win tonight and I truly believe that Bivol would win but thatβs the second time Iβve seen him up close and heβs actually a lot better than he was against Callum Johnson [who Beterbiev got off the floor to beat in 2018]. I know heβs getting older and you hope heβs slowing down but heβs not. That was – I thought – one of his best performances,β Hearn said.
βDmitry Bivol has tremendous movement but youβve almost got to make a dent. Itβs very difficult to outbox him over 12 rounds. Heβs gonna wear you down and force the pressure and the shots around the back of the head and on the ears really hurt. I think Dmitry can do it but itβs the only fight for both guys now,” Hearn added.
Do you think Dmitry Bivol will beat Artur Beterbiev?