The Russian champion sent Usik to the floor. The Ukrainian’s head almost fell off

In 2024, boxing fans were waiting for two superfights, in each of which the absolute world champion was to be determined. On May 18, in Riyadh, Ukrainian Alexander Usik and Briton Tyson Fury plan to reveal the best heavyweight. On June 1, the long-awaited meeting of two titled Russian light heavyweights, Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev, was also expected in the capital of Saudi Arabia, but due to the latter’s injury, the fight was postponed indefinitely.

It is curious that at the initial stage of their professional careers, Usik and Beterbiev had a chance to meet in the ring, since they competed in the same weight. The Ukrainian team abandoned the idea, although after three fights with controversial results in the amateurs, it would be interesting to determine the best among the professionals.

One of the close battles ended in Arthur’s victory, although he was preparing for a completely different opponent.

Confident start

In 2007, in Kaliningrad, as part of preparations for the World Championship, a match meeting between Russian and Ukrainian boxers was held. Our athletes met almost no resistance and won with a crushing score. But in one of the fights the confrontation turned out to be so stubborn that fans are still arguing about its outcome.

In the weight category up to 81 kg, Russia was represented by 22-year-old Artur Beterbiev. The Ukrainians were originally supposed to enter the ring with Ismail Sillah, and our boxer was preparing for a fight with him. But instead of a right-hander, he unexpectedly got 20-year-old left-hander Alexander Usik as his opponent.

The tall Ukrainian previously competed in the up to 75 kg category, although Alexander was a bit tall for a light heavyweight. From the very beginning of the fight, Usik took advantage of his advantage and tried to keep his opponent at a distance, but Beterbiev still managed to land a couple of focused blows as he approached. A confident start allowed Russian fans to count on another easy victory in the Russian-Ukrainian match confrontation.

Active ending

Even in his amateur era, Beterbiev did not hesitate to act like a professional: he tried to knock out his opponent with one powerful blow. But it was not so easy to hit the agile Usyk; in the second round, the Ukrainian adjusted to his opponent and began to successfully work on counterattacks. As a result, Alexander took the segment and reduced the gap in the score to a minimum.

Alexander Usik / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Vladimir Astapkovich

In the third round, Arthur managed to drop Usyk, but the referee did not start the countdown, deciding that the Ukrainian simply stumbled. After Beterbiev’s blows, Alexander’s head almost flew off, but the Russian himself endured his opponent’s attacks calmly. Nevertheless, the judges recorded an equal fight; before the final round, the BTR retained a minimal advantage – 8:7.

And in the final round, Beterbiev almost missed the victory. Usyk continued to back away and avoid exchanges, but he delivered his blows regularly and even took the lead in the score. Arthur seemed lost, pinning his opponent against the ropes, and did not know what to do with him next. And yet, the active ending helped the Russian take the round and finish the fight with a victory with a score of 12:10.

Without a point in the dispute

After 2007, Beterbiev and Usik met twice, already in the weight category up to 91 kg. Both at the 2011 World Championships and at the 2012 Olympic Games, victory remained with the Ukrainian boxer. However, in both cases we can talk about ambiguous decisions. The judges did not notice the accentuated blows performed by the Russian and found prohibited attacks where there were none.

A fight in a professional ring would allow us to finally identify the strongest in this pair. Beterbiev was ready for such a challenge, but Usik’s team did not want to risk their fighter’s record at an early stage of his career.

Artur Beterbiev / Photo: © Mathieu Belanger / Freelancer / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

Now talking about this confrontation is already pointless. Arthur mastered the light heavyweight category as a professional, where he won almost everything and has not yet lost a single fight. Alexander also performs successfully, but in the heavyweight division, and has no plans to return to the first heavyweight division, much less to the light heavyweight division.

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