Artur Beterbiev fought a sequence of bouts with Oleksandr Usyk, now the unified heavyweight champion, when they were both amateurs; Beterbiev doesn’t rule out moving up in weight himself but insists he is fully focused on next opponent Callum Smith; Watch Beterbiev vs Smith live on Sky
Artur Beterbiev beat Oleksandr Usyk once, and he believes Tyson Fury will do so too when the Briton fights him for the undisputed heavyweight title.
Beterbiev, who is the holder the WBC, WBO and IBF light-heavyweight championships, lost to Usyk in two exciting bouts at 91kgs in the 2011 amateur World championships and 2012 Olympics.
But he is the first to point out that he also holds an amateur win over Usyk, beating the Ukrainian when they were both light-heavyweights.
He shrugged off those past defeats. “That time my weight was only 83kgs,” he told Sky Sports. “I’ve never been 90kgs in a fight.
“We had another fight too in the amateurs,” he added. “There was a match [in Russia], I had fight with him there at 81kgs and I beat him on the first day [of the tournament].
“You know Oleksandr Usyk, he does his job very well. What I can say, good for him.
That is something of an understatement. Usyk has excelled as a professional, beating Anthony Joshua to win the WBO, IBF and WBA heavyweight titles, and his February fight with WBC titlist Fury gives him the chance to become a two-weight undisputed champion.
