BY: JORDAN ROSAS
On Saturday at 3 p.m. ET, undefeated Light Heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev defends his title against Adam Deines. On paper, Beterbiev is the clear heavy favorite. Not only is he an undefeated world champion, he’s also the only one with a perfect knockout streak. 17 fights, 17 wins, 17 KOs. He’s also fighting on his home turf in Moscow.
At 19-1-1 however, Deines actually has more ring experience. Beterbiev is also now 36, and hasn’t fought in 17 months. That last fight was his most impressive win, as he stopped the previously unbeaten Ukrainian champion, Oleksandr Usyk.
To be fair, though, Deines hasn’t fought in 18 months. Ring rust could play a major factor in this bout, but we’ve seen plenty of fighters over the past year pick up right where they left off pre-Covid. Deines moves well, has good technique, and very smooth punches, but he may not have the speed to evade the heavy-handed Russian. Beterbiev has decent technique. It’s not elite, but it is better than most power punchers who can often be one-dimensional. The bottom line, it’s always been good enough to set up stoppages.
Deines has the power to hurt Beterbiev, though I don’t know if he’s strong enough to get the stoppage. He’ll want to find a way to make Beterbiev respect his power early on, then use his technical skills to build a lead on the scorecards. That could be tough if ring rust slows either fighter. The last thing to decline on a boxer is their punching power, which bodes well for a 36-year-old, potentially rusty Beterbiev. I expect him to get it done.
Prediction: Beterbiev by 7th Round KO
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