New September opponent for Light Heavyweight Champ Beterbiev

A month away from his first defense of his WBC- IBF Unified Light Heavyweight World titles, Russian Artur Beterviev, has had to find a new opponent. This after scheduled Chinese opponent Meng Fanglong has travel and visa issues to and from Russia.

ESPN Steve Kim broke the story midday Monday that Beterbiev will now be fighting Adam Deines, instead on September 25th in Yekaterinburg, Russia:

New foe for Artur Beterbiev because of visa issues for Fanlong… #boxing

Beterbiev now set to face Deines on Sept. 25 https://t.co/VKo5eumMwb

— Steve Kim (@StevESPNKim) August 24, 2020

As Kim reports, it’s primarily due to Fanglong’s inability to return to either the United States, where he’s been for 9 months or home in China. This after he was re-scheduled to fight Beterbiev in September, but due to the extensive Covid-19 travel restrictions that many countries have imposed all over the world, he won’t be allowed to leave Russia for the foreseeable future after the fight.

Fanglong, 16-0, 10 KOs, is ranked #1 by the IBF and has been living in the United States since December . That has been in preparation first to fight Beterbiev originally in March in Montreal, Canada. However, the fight was postponed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

One of Fanglong’s advisors, Tommy Lane, told ESPN about Fanglong having to pull out,

“We want the Beterbiev fight. He wants it, the team wants it, we just can’t make it happen right now because it’s in Russia.” 

So, instead Beterbiev will take on Denies, who is Russian-born but now a German citizen and is 19 – 1 – 1 as a professional.

Denies has primarily fought in Germany, except when he lost a 12-round decision to Fanglong in Macau, China, in June of 2019. That helped Fanlong become the IBF’s number one ranked contender and set him up for the shot with Beterbiev.

Beterbiev, the dominant figure out 175 lb. is at 15 – 0, 15 KOs and dispatched Oleksander Gvozdyk in 10 rounds in their Unification title Showdown last October in Philadelphia.

He lives in Montreal now, and has only fought in Canada or the Unitied States, up until now.