“He came to visit, patriot.” Russian boxer shamed for performing under a false flag

At the Vnukovo airport, Artur Beterbiev was greeted as a national hero. The boxer brought the belts of three prestigious organizations to Moscow at once – it is not surprising that the fans staged a real show for him with dances and posters.

However, the athlete still failed to avoid an unpleasant question. Beterbiev sensationally held his championship fight under the Canadian flag, and in Russia this circumstance outraged many. Until recently, Arthur did not comment on the situation, but now he was finally called to account.

Not everyone liked the boxer’s explanation.

Necessary measure

Undefeated boxer Artur Beterbiev arrived in Moscow as the IBF, WBC and WBO light heavyweight champion. He took the last title not so long ago, knocking out the American Joe Smith Jr. In the eyes of most Russian fans, the athlete is a real hero. However, there were no exceptions. Part of the public was excited by the fact that Arthur was performing in New York under the Canadian flag.

However, Beterbiev did not go to the fight, turning into a Canadian flag, and did not sing the anthem “O Canada”, pressing his hand to his heart. He was introduced as a Canadian in the broadcast. And probably, if Arthur really wanted to hush up this episode, he could refer to the fact that he was not informed, deceived, fooled. But the native of Dagestan did not insist on such a dubious version.

– It was forced. Once in his entire career he performed under the Canadian flag. Before that, he always performed under Russian, I hope they will not be judged strictly, – Beterbiev is quoted by Match TV.

The explanation is a little strange – now there is no certainty that “once in a career” will be the last. Will we hear about it two or three times in the future? Recall that in March, the prestigious boxing organizations WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF banned Russians from using the flag and anthem and excluded athletes from the ratings. The current champions from our country retained the titles, but this issue was not completely closed, the most stringent measures in the future were not excluded. All fights with their participation were under threat.

It was then that the American promoter Bob Arum, who planned to organize the fight between Arthur and Smith, decided to play it safe, saying that Beterbiev is a legal citizen of Canada, and therefore sanctions should not apply to him. The fight in the end took place without any problems, although the American public booed the Canadian citizen anyway, as if they did not know about the words of the organizer that the boxer had nothing to do with Russia.

Not our champion?

As a professional, Beterbiev is easy to understand. It is far from the first year that he has been moving towards his dream, showing excellent results, and is very close to collecting the belts of all prestigious organizations. The manifestation of patriotism in this situation could call into question his career. If a Canadian passport is a good tool for saving a sports path, why not use such a tool.

Artur Beterbiev / Photo: © RIA Novosti / Alexey Nikolsky

However, after all the menacing words about closed doors for the Russians, it turned out that Dmitry Bivol managed to defend his title without having any saving passport of the “correct” country. He entered the fight as a neutral athlete, and no one called him an American, Canadian or British. It turns out that Arthur, with a strong desire, could convince the organizers not to turn him into a Canadian boxer?

In defense of Beterbiev, we can recall that the head of the WBC Mauricio Suleiman himself insisted on entering the ring of an athlete under the Canadian flag, and no one set such conditions for Bivol in the WBA. But Arthur also had an IBF belt, and no one canceled the path of diplomacy. Of course, it is easier to agree with the requirements than to try to push through your conditions – but this again brings back to the issue of personal choice.

Not surprisingly, not all boxing fans took Beterbiev’s decision well to stand under other people’s banners. In social networks, Russians reproach Arthur:

– Handsome, but I don’t understand why he performed under the Canadian flag?

Well done Canadian!

– Canada is one of the most unfriendly countries in relation to Russia.

– Canadian citizenship, has been living in Canada for a long time. Coming out to fight under the Canadian flag. It’s silly to write “our champion at home”. He came to visit, a stranger “patriot”.

However, the champion came to visit not empty-handed, but with championship belts – he brought them just for his Russian fans. Perhaps a person who considers himself Canadian would have acted differently. At the airport, Beterbiev promised to continue representing the Russian flag as soon as possible. Let’s hope Arthur can keep his word.