Artur Asilbekovich Beterbiev is a Russian-born Canadian professional boxer.
39 Facts About Artur Beterbiev
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Artur Beterbiev is a unified light heavyweight champion, having held the IBF title since 2017, the WBC title since 2019 and the WBO title since 2022.
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Artur Beterbiev reached the quarter-finals of the heavyweight bracket at the 2012 Olympics.
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Artur Beterbiev is particularly known for his exceptional punching power, having won all of his professional fights by knockout or stoppage since debuting in 2013.
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Artur Beterbiev competed as a light-heavyweight and heavyweight in his amateur career.
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Artur Beterbiev won the 2006 European Amateur Boxing Championships beating Kenneth Egan and Ismail Sillakh among others.
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Artur Beterbiev beat Egor Mekhontsev but lost to two-time world champion Evgeny Makarenko in 2006.
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Artur Beterbiev won his professional debut via a second-round TKO over Christian Cruz at the Bell Centre on 8 July 2013.
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Artur Beterbiev fought on the undercard of Jean Pascal vs Lucian Bute, beating Gabriel Lecrosnier by TKO on the fourth round.
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In December 2014, Artur Beterbiev stopped light heavyweight prospect Jeff Page Jr.
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However, Artur Beterbiev was dropped for the first time in a professional fight in the first round of the fight by a straight right to the head.
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Artur Beterbiev knocked Johnson down twice in the fifth and a third time in the seventh before finishing him at 1:38 of the round, clobbering him with a left hook and finishing him off with an overhand right that put Johnson through the ropes down and out.
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In June 2016, Artur Beterbiev defeated Ezequiel Maderna by round 4 TKO, dropping him four times along the way.
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Artur Beterbiev had several title eliminators and world title shots fall through, including bouts against Sullivan Barrera, Igor Mikhalkin, and Sergey Kovalev.
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Artur Beterbiev faced long periods of inactivity in a promotional dispute against Yvon Michel.
16.
In July 2017, Artur Beterbiev had yet another world title eliminator fall through.
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Artur Beterbiev was scheduled to face Enrico Kolling, with the winner becoming the IBF's mandatory challenger to unified world champion Andre Ward, but the fight was never finalized amidst Beterbiev's contract dispute.
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The IBF later announced that the fight between Artur Beterbiev and Kolling would be for the now-vacant world title.
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Artur Beterbiev dominated Kolling in a dull fight, walking him down while Kolling refused to engage.
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Artur Beterbiev finally scored a knockdown in round 12, as Kolling went down on one knee and received a count.
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Artur Beterbiev landed 322 of 1,111 punches while Kolling landed 64 of 252 blows.
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In October 2018, Artur Beterbiev fought British champion Callum Johnson in a mandatory defence of his IBF world title in Chicago.
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Artur Beterbiev accepted the fight on a co-promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing USA, which was aired live on DAZN in the US and on Sky Sports in the UK.
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Artur Beterbiev was scheduled to fight Meng Fanlong on March 28,2020, but the fight was scrapped due to the coronavirus pandemic.
25.
On 20 March 2021, Artur Beterbiev stopped Deines in the tenth round with a vicious left hook, handing him his first KO defeat in his professional career.
26.
On 20 August 2021, Artur Beterbiev was ordered by the WBC to make a mandatory title defense against Marcus Browne.
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Artur Beterbiev's second unified title defense was booked for 17 December 2021, and took place at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
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Artur Beterbiev began to take over the bout from the fourth round onward, during which he suffered a bad cut from an accidental clash of heads, and won the fight by a ninth-round technical knockout.
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On 13 February 2022, Top Rank boss Bob Arum revealed that Artur Beterbiev was in ongoing negotiations with WBO light-heavyweight champion Joe Smith Jr.
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The planned three-belt light-heavyweight unification bout would take place in summer, as Artur Beterbiev would be unable to face Smith Jr.
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WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman further stressed that Artur Beterbiev had been living in Canada for 15 years, held a Canadian passport, Canadian residency, and a Canadian boxing license.
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Artur Beterbiev was expected to make a mandatory title defense against the number one ranked WBO light heavyweight contender Anthony Yarde on 29 October 2022 at The O2 Arena in London, England.
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Artur Beterbiev knocked Yarde down with a counter right hook to an attempted uppercut, which floored the British fighter at the midway point of the round.
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Artur Beterbiev had outlanded Yarde 135 to 111 in total punches and 84 to 75 in power punches by that point.
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On 15 March 2023, Artur Beterbiev was ordered by the WBC to make a mandatory title defense against the former WBA super middleweight champion Callum Smith.
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Artur Beterbiev was born in Khasavyurt, Dagestan, and is of Chechen descent.
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Artur Beterbiev appealed, arguing his contract with Michel had expired in March 2017, then agreed to an out-of-court settlement with Michel.
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Artur Beterbiev had entered into new a co-promotional agreement with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing.
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However, after one fight under the Eddie Hearn arrangement, Artur Beterbiev left Hearn, and subsequently signed to Top Rank and ESPN.