Eddie Hearn is certainly not a fan of Artur Beterbiev.
That’s understandable, though, given Hearn will promote Beterbiev’s rival Dmitry Bivol when the pair face off in an undisputed light-heavyweight title clash on June 1, and was sitting next to his fighter at the launch press conference in London.
The Matchroom chief previously promoted Callum Smith against Beterbiev in January, with the Russian prevailing by brutal stoppage, a result which Hearn had not predicted.
And having had choice words to say about ‘Beast’ at the time, he took aim at his personality when talking to the media.
He said: “I don’t really like him to be honest. I think he’s arrogant.
“Rightfully so because he’s incredibly dangerous and he really believes in himself. But we’re here to talk about the fight.
“I said Dmitry Bivol after the face-off, ‘Let’s f*** him up, take him to school.
“I really want to beat him, I thought Callum Smith was going to do the job and Anthony Yarde wasn’t either unfortunately.
“It shows you how good Beterbiev is, but Bivol is special and it is going to be a tough fight for the undisputed world championship.”
Hearn has previously been quick to praise Beterbiev’s boxing ability in the past, but their surprise rivalry will add some ‘needle’ into the showdown.
The 40-year-old champion may have taken issue with Hearn predicting he will be knocked out before, but he is once again confident of doing the job.
Beterbiev could seal a huge fight against Jai Opetaia if he beats Bivol, in a cruiserweight switch where he could become world champion at another weight.
He is extremely confident of doing so. “I’m not old, 39 only. I’m not old.
“Of course, it’s always different. The fight is different. You’re preparing different.
“I’m not learning [studying] him for a long time. I’ve just watched a couple of his fights first time. We just started to learn him. We will prepare.
“It’s important to look for the KO yes, but I just want to win and I will win.”
Meanwhile, his opponent Bivol will be hoping to become undisputed which could set up the opportunity to achieve the feat at two weights, if he switches to 168lbs to rematch current title holder Canelo Alvarez.
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News Summary:
- ‘I really don’t like him’ – Eddie Hearn told Dmitry Bivol what he hopes to see him do to Artur Beterbiev when they fight
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