By Steve Kim
If it wasn't clear that light heavyweight Artur Beterbiev (6-0, 6KOs) wasn't being moved quickly after facing Tavoris Cloud in just his sixth fight (and scoring an eye-opening second round stoppage on September 27th), this statement from his promoter makes it that much more emphatic and clear:
"Look, it will seem pretentious but I tell you," BoxingScene was told by Yvon Michel of GYM, which promotes the 29-year old Russian - "(Beterbiev) would fight (Sergey) Kovalev, now."
As in 'right' now?
"Given the opportunity, he would fight (Kovalev) now," Michel, reiterated. "His management, his trainer, they tell me that whoever will fight him, and of course, Kovalev now that he has three titles is the target."
In the meantime Beterbiev is scheduled to face Jeff Page Jr. (15-0, 10KOs) on December 19th in Quebec City on the undercard featuring Adonis Stevenson-Dmitry Sukhotsky. The veteran promoter is absolutely convinced that he has the goods.
"I've been in the business for a long time, I've signed a lot of fighters, I've seen a lot of them, he trains at our office, it's on the first level, the gym, and I have a camera and a giant screen. So while I'm working I can see the guys sparring, training and everything and this guy is special. He is very, very special," said Michel.
So while the management is willing to pull the trigger, would Michel give the green light on a Kovalev fight, if so offered?
"Yes, absolutely, if I would get a call and I know, look, we're not starting to scream at (Kovalev) 'Oh, you're scared of fighting us.' I know what it is. I know that [Beterbiev] needs to do a couple of fights like he did with Tavoris Cloud. I know he's not very well known so it will take a little bit of time," admitted Michel.
The reality is that while Beterbiev has created a bit of a buzz within boxing circles and he seems to be the latest in boxing's Russian revolution, as of right now, he falls on the wrong side of the risk-reward ratio. It will take some time to build his profile.
"But not that much," points out Michel, who plans to move him quickly up the ladder.
"We will get him in the rankings, we will get him every opponent, we will have the resources to give him the proper opponents to get the proper credentials and to have his opportunity rapidly. When you have three belts, you have three mandatories to do and so we'll target one of the three to get that position, rapidly. I know because of his style, TV will always buy a Kovalev fight."
