Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol are ready to create history when they face each other on October 12 to become the first undisputed light heavyweight champion in the 4-belt era. The last fighter who was able to unify the light heavyweight division was Roy Jones Jr. in 1999. ‘Superman’ held the WBA, WBC, and IBF championships before vacating them in 2004. Since then, this division has not seen an undisputed champion. But it will change in Riyadh, as one of these two boxers will walk out as the new undisputed light heavyweight champion.

It is a bout that will define the next few years of boxing. But considering the magnitude of the fight, the pre-match conferences between Beterbiev and Bivol have been rather relaxed. There has been no animosity or tension between the fighters and the boxing promoter Eddie Hearn was not happy with the proceedings. Moreover, he criticized Beterbiev for the way Beterbiev had been presenting himself before the fight.

Hearn calls out Artur Beterbiev’s arrogance

As we have seen during every fight involving these two, both of them prefer to communicate inside the rings and maintain a reserved demeanor during public appearances. But Hearn, who is representing Bivol in this fight, was not a fan of this reserved approach by Beterbiev and called him arrogant. The Matchroom promotion founder stated, “At the first presser, Beterbiev said about three words, I found it quite arrogant,” talking about the press event and how underwhelming the whole event felt.

Hearn added, “You’re getting paid an absolute fortune, the entire world’s media here, you owe us a little bit more than that,” while questioning the sporting nature of the unified light heavyweight champion. He labeled this behavior as downright disrespectful to everyone associated with the fight. According to him, if you are being paid around $10 million, you owe it to fans to entertain them in every appearance and not reply with just a word or two.

The promoter further added that he respects the not caring attitude of ‘The Rabbit’ but it limits his ability to connect with a deeper audience. “He couldn’t care less, in a way I respect it, but in a way, I think it’s a little disrespectful,” stated Hearn as he pointed out that if Beterbiev uses his dry sense of humor more, he can be an even bigger star. But considering the magnitude of the fight, it can also be Hearn’s way of promoting it and attracting more eyes to the PPV.

The match between Beterbiev and Bivol will mark another successful partnership between Matchroom Boxing and Riyadh Season. It has been a roller coaster of a year for both of these companies and Hearn was delighted with the change that this partnership has brought to the boxing world.

Eddie Hearn reflects on a successful season

Riyadh Season has had a successful outing in boxing so far, from Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou to hosting their first event in the UK, it has been a brilliant venture. Hearn looked back at the whole year and stated, “When I saw the scale of that event, you know, saw the fight night, the fight week and I realized that there was a new movement in boxing.” Hearn approached His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, and it has been “the most enjoyable year of my career in boxing because it‘s been so refreshing to see the big fights get made.”

The Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol will add another chapter to this partnership and will create history. What do you think about Hearn’s comment on Beterbiev and his demeanor? Should ‘The Rabbit’ change his attitude in the pre-match conferences? Let us know your thoughts down below.