He shares his name with the legendary English king of folklore. However, Artur Beterbiev remains one of the few boxers whose nickname has always been a mystery. This weekend, scores of fans and followers will root for him. To solve the light heavyweight division’s undisputed puzzle, he will step into the ring to face Dmitry Bivol.

Like many, his fans want to feel their hearts race as the announcer calls out Beterbiev’s name at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena. But alas, it would be a straight jacket verbatim, sans any mention of a glorious nickname. Or will it be different this time? The unified champion and Dmitry Bivol might have clashed on June 1. However, organizers had to postpone the fight following Beterbiev’s meniscus injury. Let’s check whether the ring announcer could really get lucky and add a nickname to Artur Beterbiev at the most pivotal moment of his outstanding career.

Does Artur Beterbiev have a nickname?

The Canadian-Russian fighter remains the only boxing champion with a 100% knockout record. So probably on account of the way he demolished the opposition, many feel his boxing mimics a predatory beast. Hence the moniker, ‘The Beast’ often makes an appearance. But a close examination of the records does not confirm whether the light heavyweight champion has adopted the nickname.

Otherwise, as revealed through a YouTube short, Beterbiev once revealed how at the boxing gym he received a nickname: ‘The Rabbit’. “You know in our gym, everyone already has good names, like you know ‘Lion’, ‘Wolf’, everything. I have only rabbits, you know. I mean, I don’t have another one. Good name, rabbit. rabbit too good, like you know it’s fast,” he said, with a wide smile on his face.

When Artur Beterbiev poked at his opponent’s nickname

His friends at the gym might have helped Artur Beterbiev with a nickname. Nevertheless, there’s an instance that suggests that way back, the world champion never desisted from devising a new moniker not only for himself but for his adversary as well. On June 12, 2015, Beterbiev fought the American Alexander Johnson for the WBO international light heavyweight title and his own NABO belt.

In the lead-up to the bout, unfazed by the challenge that he faced, the two-time European champion took a dig at Johnson’s nickname, ‘The Great’. He said, “If my opponent calls himself ‘Alexander the Great,’ then I’ll be ‘King Artur.” and proving his worth, Artur Beterbiev won the fight with a seventh-round technical knockout.

A close review of Artur Beterbiev’s last two fights revealed that while the ring announcers yelled out Anthony Yarde and Callum Smith‘s nicknames, it was an impactful but still workday ‘Artur Beterbiev’ for everyone. So let’s hope he gets one by Saturday. Interestingly, his Dmitry too follows in his footsteps—a champion without a nickname.

Between Bivol and Beterbiev, who is your pick for the win on October 12?