The average sports fan might not be too hyped about the light heavyweight WBC/IBF unification bout between Artur Beterbiev (14-0, 14 KOs) and Oleksandr “The Nail” Gvozdyk (17-0, 14 KOs) in Philadelphia on Oct. 18th. However, in boxing circles, the ESPN showdown between the two undefeated Eastern European stars has “fight of the year” potential. We’ve got the 411 on why this fight is must-watch TV.
Gvozdyk is a bad, bad man
Last December, Gvozdyk, 32, faced “Superman” Adonis Stevenson, 42, who had held onto the WBC light heavyweight belt since 2013. In 11 brutal rounds, Gvozdyk battered the Canadian-Haitian star into submission, nearly killing him.
Along with his namesake Oleksandr Usyk, Sergiy Derevianchenko, and Vasyl Lomachenko, Gvozdyk is a part of the Ukranian “golden generation” that has continued the nation’s long tradition of excellence in the “sweet science” paved by the Klitschko brothers and Louis “Kid” Kaplan. Fun fact. He’s also trained by the legendary Teddy Atlas.
Before going pro, Gvozdyk was a star amateur that won bronze at the 2012 London Olympics, although he reportedly lost to Beterbiev when they were both coming up in the amateur ranks. “I’m not paying attention to what happened 10 years ago,” Gvozdyk told ESPN. “I know he’s a strong guy and I know what I am facing. It was amateurs. It was a totally different situation. Right now we are different fighters. We are professionals now. We are more developed than we were. We are different fighters, so we’ll see what happens.”
Artur Beterbiev has a ‘Lights Out” Record
Beterbiev, 34, is one of the sport’s most devastating punchers who has knocked down every professional opponent that he’s faced. While Gvozdyk relies on technical skills mixed with heavy shots, his Russian counterpart is a straight-line charger that mauls you like a bear.
It’s not coincidental that the Chechen fighter is mentored by UFC legend Georges St-Pierre. “He’s a boxer, I’m a mixed martial arts fighter, so we had a lot of things in common,” the retired combat star told ESPN. “If you know about the art of war, the spirit, the mental of the game is pretty, pretty similar, and so I think we developed over time some type of camaraderie, and we starting hanging out.
“A Russian-Ukraine Story”
In a fight with non-marquee names outside of boxing circles, Top Rank’s Bob Arum has gotten creative with promoting it. A recent press release was worded more like the Mueller Report:
“PHILADELPHIA (Oct. 15, 2019) — As Russia and Ukraine dominate the news, both countries have become inextricably linked to the current impeachment inquiry in Washington, DC. Up the road in Philadelphia, two world champion boxers — one Russian, one Ukrainian — are preparing to meet in a light heavyweight unification bout.
As their home countries wage war against each other, their thoughts are 5,000 miles away, focused not on the opponent’s country, but on the man he will meet in the center of the ring at Temple University’s Liacouras Center on Friday. The winner will leave the ring as WBC/ IBF light heavyweight world champion.”
How to watch
Top Rank couldn’t have picked a better city to host an old-school fight than Philadelphia, which is a fabled but often forgotten city for the sport. If you can’t make it to Temple University’s Liacouras Center, the main fight will be broadcast live on ESPN at 10 pm ET. New subscribers can sign up here.
