Artur Beterbiev thoroughly enjoyed soaking his gloves in the blood of Anthony Yarde this past weekend. Although he fought courageously, the 31-year-old contender succumbed to the pernicious knockout power of the unified champion.
As Beterbiev stopped and posed for pictures while holding onto his three light heavyweight straps, promoter Eddie Hearn stood motionless in awe. Impressive, amongst a bevy of words in Hearn’s view, first came to mind.
Presently, the current head honcho of Matchroom Boxing has no promotional ties to the newly turned 38-year-old. Nevertheless, that didn't stop him from fantasizing about a certain high-stakes showdown that would deliver in the most violent of ways.
“Canelo vs. Beterbiev is a helluva fight,” said Hearn to BoxingScene.com. “That’s a bloodbath.”
Since establishing himself as a can't-miss attraction, Canelo Alvarez has done his best to pilfer world titles in numerous weight divisions. Success would soon follow the Mexican star but after his unexpected defeat at the hands of Dmitry Bivol in May of 2022, the pound-for-pound luminary has been anxiously awaiting revenge.
Officially, Alvarez (58-2-2, 39 KOs) will look to slowly build himself up to a rematch against the WBA light heavyweight belt holder. Seemingly first up on his 2023 calendar, could be a mandated showdown against WBO interim titlist, John Ryder.
Of course, if everything plays out the way he hopes, Alvarez will then swap fists against Bivol once more. So, even with Alvarez expressing in years past that a matchup vs. Beterbiev is one that gets his juices going, Hearn strongly doubts that it will come to fruition. But, with Alvarez ostensibly sheepish of his latest shortcomings, Hearn does admit that Alvarez is simply refusing to move forward with his career until he attempts to right his wrongs.
“Right now, Canelo is thinking about coming back against his mandatory. And then he wants to challenge himself in September against Dmitry Bivol.”
