World champion according to WBA Super light heavyweight (up to 79.4 kg) Russian Dmitry Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) during
interview on a boxing podcast, he talked about sparring during his amateur career with the current IBF / WBC unified champion, Canadian citizen Artur Beterbiev (17-0, 17 KOs).
Recall that Bivol’s coach Gennady Mashyanov recently said that Artur Beterbiev was not successful in sparring with Dmitry. Mashyanov claimed that Bivol “quietly outplayed Beterbiev on his feet.”
– In 2012, you had a sparring session with Beterbiev. Gennady Yurievich spoke about this recently. Comments such that Beterbiev could not get it.
– Not. Actually not quite like that. First, there was no sparring. Beterbiev was preparing for the Olympics. He boxed in the weight of 91 kg. I boxed back then at 75 kg. Big difference. I was on the team. Sometimes we were put on for a couple of rounds. And so Beterbiev’s coach wanted me to work with his student. I, as a reasonable person, seeing that a person 2 categories higher is against me, I have nothing to prove to anyone. I’m not going to annoy him again. He, too, as a reasonable person, seeing that he is 2 categories lower, is not going to prove something to anyone. That is, it was more of a “tag” where I tried to move so that they wouldn’t hit me. He tried to squeeze me somewhere, squeeze me.
– Can’t be called a full-fledged sparring?
– No, this is not a full-fledged sparring. Also when we were at the Olympics already. He also needed sparring. I sparred with him there. But also about everything in some …
— Conditionality.
— Yes, it’s more like some kind of working out. Somewhere I was even asked to be left-handed when he boxed against some left-hander at the Olympics. That is, I worked a couple of rounds there as a left-hander, although I had never worked like that before. I mean, it all went well. Beterbiev didn’t try either. This is not the kind of sparring that we have in preparation.
Bivol – Beterbiev. The promoter named a clear favorite
– When was the last time you had a personal communication?
I don’t even remember.
So you don’t communicate?
– Not. We did not communicate with him. There were some situations at the training camp and we talked.
– As with many, as with a team.
– Yes. There was such an attitude towards Beterbiev that he was the leader of the national team. I had just joined the national team and not in the first positions there. Of course, I watched all the leaders, who trains how, who has what attitude, what chips. That is, communication was more like an older attitude.
– Do you think that you and Arthur are the best light heavyweight boxers, or are there guys who you can say that they claim or are close to?
– Well, there are always a lot of different applicants. It will always be like this. And the fact that the best – probably yes, because we have belts. And Smith still now.
“It’s been boiling with Ramirez for a long time.” Bivol’s interview on Canelo, Golovkin, Beterbiev and Smith