At the back of his mind, perhaps winning remains the primary concern for Dmitry Bivol. The clash with Arthur Beterbiev remains one of the most anticipated fights of the modern era. It is a clash of styles, a showdown between two specialists who have aced the art. But as the day, or rather, the night, nears, both the boxers must be looking at the journey they took almost a decade ago. Rummaging through all those years spent sweating at gyms at homes far away from the luxurious and comfortable life in the United States and Canada.

The fight will catapult the winner to boxing greatness. As he stares at those steps that will elevate him to the golden pages of boxing history, Dmitry Bivol takes a moment to reflect back on the life he had and where he stands now. For sure, a win will now cement a lasting legacy. But it might also help to overcome the burdens of the past. Though challenging, they nevertheless forged him into iron, which eventually shone in the squared circle, dazzling the world.

Dmitry Bivol: Through The Unforgiving School

“I was enjoying it to be honest,” conceded Dmitry Bivol. After all, it was the parents who toiled tirelessly to make available the things he craved for. The light heavyweight champion, who will turn 34 on December 18, was born in the northern Kyrgyzstan city of Tokmok to parents of Moldovan and Korean heritage. The place was still a part of the erstwhile USSR as a constituent republic until it declared its independence in 1991.

So per available reports, Bivol stayed in Tokmok till the age of 11 before moving to St. Petersburg in Russia. However, the days in the small Kyrgyz town were memorable enough for the champion to recall because they eventually decided on his eventual journey into boxing. While having his own doubts about the sport, he shared how getting the most basic of the boxing items was an arduous task. But the setbacks only made him stronger. He realized that if he had to lay his hands on state-of-the-art accouterments, then he would have to work hard.

“It taught me a lot about how hard I needed to work. You can just sit around and chill out while your parents are working so hard to give you opportunities. You have to make sure you are making it worth it all,” mentioned Bivol to Mail Sport’s Charlotte Daly. But the conditions on the streets of Tokmok only fueled his determination to take up boxing a bit more seriously.

The emerging republic was going through a challenging period in history; times were tough. Differences on the street were often resolved through fists. Now that’s a department where Dmitry Bivol barely needed much pushing. Brawls became a part of the champion’s daily life.

The path to success

But while he understood that he could fight and take on anyone, Bivol realized that his aggression needed a channel. He didn’t have to go far. The discipline and structure of the sweet science offered him that shelter. However, considering his family’s condition, he had to make many adjustments before settling into the sport.

“They weren’t exactly ballet shoes, but they were similar. They were like socks. So I had to train in them for a while. But I was then sent my first pair of boxing shoes from the local jail,” the WBA light heavyweight champion remembered the tryst with his first pair of boxing shoes.

But none of these challenges were strong enough to sway Dmitry Bivol from his path or make him give up when the going went tough. Instead, he persevered and now stands at a place that most boxers can only dream of.

Do you feel that Bivol’s distancing would successfully thwart Beterbiev’s attempt to close for that deadly right?