Earlier this week, breakfast buffet eaters at the Movenpick, a swanky hotel on the outskirts of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, were surprised by who was in line with them: Artur Beterbiev, the undisputed light heavyweight champion. In between training sessions before Saturday’s anticipated rematch with Dmitry Bivol, Beterbiev found time to join the masses and pick through a fruit salad.
That’s Beterbiev. He likes to keep things simple. A team of nutritionists? Nah. An army of conditioning coaches? Not interested. The security guards that have followed Beterbiev around during fight week number more than members of his team.
And why not? It’s worked. At 40, Beterbiev (21–0) is one of the top fighters in the world. He has been a world champion since 2017, a unified titleholder since ’19 and last October defeated Bivol (23–1) to collect all four of the division's belts. He is the second oldest champion in boxing, trailing just Erislandy Lara chronologically.
Age hasn’t eroded Beterbiev—it’s made him better. His best wins have come when most fighters’ careers are over. In 2022, he steamrolled the iron-chinned Joe Smith in two rounds. In ’24, he blew out Callum Smith in seven. Bivol went the 12-round distance with Beterbiev—the first fighter in Beterbiev’s pro career to hear the last bell—but absorbed a lot of heavy punches doing it.
“It's experience,” Beterbiev told SI this week. “If you have long term in boxing it means you have good experience.”
Beterbiev has plenty of experience. Born in Dagestan, a mountainous region on the southernmost tip of Russia, Beterbiev was raised in a literal war zone. He grew up street fighting before eventually being pushed into a gym. He had a decorated amateur career, racking up medals at European and World Championships, representing Russia in two Olympics. He moved to Montreal in 2013, teaming up with veteran trainer Marc Ramsey, who has guided Beterbiev throughout his pro career.
He didn’t expect to still be fighting at 40. “Never,” says Beterbiev. Frankly, Beterbiev doesn’t even like fighting. He doesn’t enjoy punching people. Boxing, he says, “is not a nice sport.” When he’s not training, you won’t catch Beterbiev anywhere near it.
“I have seven days per week, and one day, we have day off for Sunday,” says Beterbiev. “If someone invites me to a boxing show, of course I don't want to go there. Only one day I have free off, and I don't want to spend this day for boxing.”
But Beterbiev is good at boxing. Very good. His split-decision win over Bivol solidified Beterbiev as the top 175-pounder in the world. It earned him a place in every credible pound-for-pound ranking. A win in the rematch would burnish his credentials as one of the best light heavyweights of all time.
Says Beterbiev, “I want to keep the belts for as long as I can.”
Getting here was difficult. In the ring, Beterbiev is a well-oiled machine. Outside, his body has fallen apart. He has had injuries to his knee, shoulder and ribs. He had one fight postponed due to an infection in his jaw. Knee surgery pushed his fight with Bivol back from June to October. Over nearly 12 years, Beterbiev has just 21 fights.
“During this time, it's a hard time,” says Beterbiev. “You want to continue, but you have some issues. It's a hard time, but I'm happy it's in the past. In the future, I hope there is no injuries. And I believe anything that doesn't kill you makes you stronger.”
Beterbiev says he had no injuries in this camp. The competitiveness of the first fight inspired Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi government official bankrolling big boxing events, to push for a quick rematch. The 133 days between the two fights will be one of the fastest turnarounds of Beterbiev’s career. Beterbiev says he likes that he was able to report to camp in good condition. Though he admits, “You want a little vacation.”
Bivol has promised to make adjustments in the rematch. “Throw more punches,” Bivol says. Beterbiev promises some tweaks, too. In the aftermath of the title-unifying win, Ramsay and Beterbiev rewatched the fight. Ramsay said it was good … but Beterbiev could be better. Beterbiev agreed. With early activity. With movement. With body work.
“With everything,” says Beterbiev. “We can change nothing in the past. The future, we try to change something, if I can. All my 21 fights, before each, I want to do better. There is no one thing, it's big things, it's small things. And if we correct little things here and there, everything will go well.”
The rematch with Bivol is a big fight. But it won’t be Beterbiev’s last. A loss could lead to a rubber match later this year. A win could push Beterbiev into a showdown with David Benavidez. He’s open to a move to cruiserweight. There’s even the possibility of a matchup with heavyweight champion Oleksandr Usyk, who Beterbiev fought three times in the amateur ranks. Last year, Beterbiev publicly challenged Jake Paul.
“I do this as a job,” says Beterbiev. “It’s not like someone asked me to do this. I do this job by myself. I want to do this, I want to continue.”
A fighter who just wants to fight. Pretty simple.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com as Artur Beterbiev Thrives on Keeping Boxing Simple.