Arthur Beterbiev is a man of contradictions. A boxer whose fists have never failed to finish a fight, eliminating all the opponents with which he was confronted – except, of course, Dmitry Bivol – however we do not like the game with direct elimination.
“I don’t like to hit people,” he said, his calm and contemplative voice during an exclusive interview with Mail Sport in Montreal, Canada. “Even if it’s my work, I don’t like it. My trainer says, hit him hard and I do it. But it is not me, it is he who asks me to do it.
For a man with a perfect record of 21-0, all except one coming by KO, it is a striking feeling. In a sport where to eliminate your opponent is often considered the ultimate measure of success, the approach of Beterbiev is refreshing and human.
His words echo a belief that he previously shared: “I don’t like being called a monster”. Last week, Beterbiev spoke of his mother with warmth, confessed to having taken advantage of the whole range of seasons in Canada, and revealed that he was playing the ladies to sharpen his mind.
However, despite this unpretentious character, Betbiev’s fists transported him to the height of his sport. He is the champion of unknown light heavyweights in the world. But enters his gymnasium, there is no leaflet of a training reading list or chatter of a crowded training camp. Instead, there is silence.
Beterbiev trains without music, without distractions. The only sounds are the rhythmic switchs of his fists on a heavy bag, the breath lively of effort, the creak of his swivel shoes.
Beterbiev is a man of contradictions. A boxer whose fists have never failed to finish a fight, eliminating each opponent that he was confronted – with the exception of Bivol – yet we don’t like the game KO
In a sport where to eliminate your opponent is often considered the ultimate measure of success, the Beterbiev approach is refreshing
It is an unusual spectacle in the modern sport era, where most athletes are counting on beats to train their intensity. But for Beterbiev, this silence is sacred. “I focus better in this way,” he said simply during our interview via the first row. “It’s just me and work.
He does not train with others either. No teammates pushes it, no rotary casting of training partners – just him, his coach and the endless pursuit of perfection. “I like it like that,” he explains. “Less distraction. No more concentration.
And while some fighters swear by elaborate recovery methods or cutting -edge sports drinks, Beterbiev has his own secret weapon: what he calls “holy water”. A bottle is nearby, filled with nothing more than Canada’s pure well water.
No additives, no supplements, just clean and not filtered water. He drinks it religiously, convinced of his advantages, although he does not integrate into the details. “It’s my secret weapon, I can’t tell you all my secrets,” he said with a smile.
Beterbiev is not motivated by the thirst for blood that many suppose, nor by the reputation which has just been an elite athlete. He is rather motivated by a relentless quest for self-improvement.
“I am a perfectionist”, he admits with an uptop of shoulders. “All my fights, even the 20 ko, I am not completely happy. I always think I can do better.
This explains his dissatisfaction with his last fight against Bivol. Despite the victory, despite the fact that most saw him as a brilliant performance, Beterbiev found faults, moments he could have made more, moments when he could have been better.
The revenge on Saturday will be the chance to make it to prove it. While his opponents often find themselves with their extinct lights, Beterbiev is more concerned with the nuance of his profession, perfecting his technique, improving his strategy and perfecting his match plan.
Beterbiev trains without music, without distractions. The only sounds are the rhythmic switchs of his fists on a heavy bag, the breath lives of effort, the creaking of his shoes swivel
“I think I’m better now than in the first fight,” he said with confidence, thinking about knee surgery that has interrupted his preparation time. “We did different things in the training that I could not do at the time.
It is this motivation to improve, even when everything around him shouts success, which distinguishes Beterbiev. “I always need to prove something more, even for me.
But the truth about the Beterbiev mentality is as follows: it did not start boxing because of a burning desire to be the most tough man in the room. He was not a fan of sport for life, and he did not dream of championship belts as a young boy. His entry into boxing was shaped by the need, born from a desire to find a outlet for his energy in a world which offered some other choices.
Born in 1985 in Khasavyurt, Digestan, Beterbiev grew up for a turbulent period. The collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991 left the region – and its family. It was at this time that Beterbiev found himself in the world of street fights.
Unlike some of his peers, including Bivol, who had rules governing their street fights – generally ending when the blood was taken or the emotions were high – the experiences of Betbiev were much more brutal.
His street meetings have shown little mercy and often intensified quickly into dangerous confrontations, transforming street fights into a perilous outlet for his frustrations and repressed aggression.
His older brother was the one who presented him with sport, and as an adolescent, it was a way to get out of the streets, far from the fights and chaos that marked his first years.
“I grew up in a difficult environment,” he recalls, “difficult moments make strong people. Boxing, for me, was a way to channel this energy. I have to thank my brother. My older brother took me to the gymnasium and insisted that I would train stronger and focus on this instead of street fights.
Beterbiev, who begins to train while praying, was first bought at the gymnasium by his brother
It was not easy. His father died when Beterbiev was young and he had to intervene as the house of the house. “It was a difficult period,” he admits, “but these difficulties made me what I am today.
This motivation – he instilled in him by his mother and his own inner strength – propelled him through each fight. When Beterbiev was offered a place in a sports college in Moscow, although he did not want to leave the house, it was his mother who encouraged him to go. “She has always pushed me,” he said. “She helped me become who I am.
“If it was not for my mother, I would have stopped boxing. Shortly after the death of my father, I was invited to the Olympic reserve school. It was a dream and once by a million chances, but I really didn’t want to leave.
“Whether my father’s death affected me like that, or that it was something else. But the idea of leaving the house, leaving my mother, terrified me. And I was ready to abandon what, of course, would put a cross on my career.
“My mom knew how important the boxing was, that she could become my life and convinced me to go. You know how everything worked later. But I think of whom I would have been if I refused to go to Moscow and it makes me think of my luck to have my mother.
Despite its success, Beterbiev remains an anchored figure. He laughs easily, joke with those around him and even finds time for verifiers as a mental exercise. His approach to life and boxing is a reminder that champions are not only made in the ring – they are shaped by their past, their relationships and their state of mind.
As the Revenge match approaches with Bivo, the story of Beterbiev remains a silent force, a man who is not there for glory or the Knockouts but for the pursuit of something bigger. “I just want to do my job in the best possible way,” he says. “This is what motivates me.
Thus, while the world can see Beterbiev as an artist with direct elimination, which really nourishes him is much more complex than the punches he offers in the ring. It is his pursuit of perfection, his gratitude for the lessons that life taught him and his determination to be better than yesterday.
Artur Beterbiev will face Dmitry Bivo for the second time in Saudi Arabia on February 22, headlining the last Crescendo Riyadic season card. Interview with the kind authorization of Top Rank.
