‘His boxing is dirty’: Artur Beterbiev takes aim at David Benavidez

Artur Beterbiev has struck fear into the light heavyweight division for many years. He reigned supreme as the undisputed champion at 175 pounds, until a close defeat in his rematch against Dmitry Bivol. Whether we see the fearsome Russian again remains to be seen, but speaking to Russian TV station Match TV, Beterbiev took aim at the WBC light heavyweight and unified cruiserweight champion David Benavidez.

Artur Beterbiev takes aim at David Benavidez

Speaking to Match TV, Artur Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs) revealed he was supposed to face Benavidez after Benavidez defeated Anthony Yarde:

“He had a fight with Anthony Yarde [on November 22], and I agreed to fight him after that.” 

“His team apparently didn’t expect me to agree so quickly, so they immediately changed their mind and chose Ramirez. That was a year ago. Generally, this has become the norm in boxing – sometimes I’ll box, sometimes I won’t, choosing opponents, I like this one, I don’t like that one. I have a different mentality. That’s foreign to me,” said Beterbiev.

“Benavidez is the kind of guy who talks a lot more than he does.”

“But it must be said that he’s being handled very skillfully. He’s already a world champion in two weight classes. But his boxing is dirty, and some of his victories are certainly questionable,” added Beterbiev.

The future for Beterbiev

It remains to be seen just what is left for Beterbiev, at 41 years old. Have we seen the last of the big-punching Russian? He was due to feature on the Benavidez-Yarde undercard as part of the “The Ring IV: Night of The Champions” show in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. However, his planned fight against Deon Nicholson never came to fruition.

The Khasavyurt native has not fought since losing to Bivol in February of last year, which was the rematch following Beterbiev’s win in their first showdown. If Beterbiev has the desire to continue, and it appears he does, a showdown with Benavidez (32-0, 26 KOs) would surely provide plenty of fireworks! Both like to come forward and throw bombs; how can we not be entertained?

Featured Image Credit:

Mikey Williams/Top Rank