Artur Beterbiev

Born Artur Asilbekovich Beterbiev, Artur is of Chechen descent and was born in the city of Khasavyurt, in the republic of Dagestan, Russia. Beterbiev's hometown is known for its wrestling pedigree, having produced numerous Olympic qualifiers in the sport, and Beterbiev did wrestle for a time before he was drawn to boxing. He has credited his four brothers with bringing him to a boxing gym to keep him off of the streets, as Dagestan is noted for organized crime, where kidnapping and violence are known to flourish. Artur has stated that, when he was young, he worked at a local gas station where he earned a negligible wage and was drawn to street-fighting to earn money. His brothers directed his aggression and natural talent to a boxing gym.

Beterbiev entered his twelfth professional fight onin November 2017 against Enrico Koelling. The fight lasted twelve rounds, with Beterbieve dominating the German boxer for all twelve before the fight was stopped in the twelfth round. With the win, Beterbiev won the IBF light heavyweight title, which had previously been vacated by Andre Ward. He also preserved his knockout streak with the twelfth-round fight stoppage and kept his undefeated record. In his next fight, Beterbiev was partially exposed by Callum Johson, who landed some heavy hits in the second round, but Beterbiev was able to drop Johnson in the fourth round and maintained his perfect record and his title.

Artur Beterbiev followed with a title defense against Adam Deines. The fight would see Beterbiev take ten rounds to defeat Deines, despite the odds suggesting it would be a short fight. Deines was dropped once in the first round and once in the tenth, when a short left hook sent Deines to his gloves and knees. Despite beating the count, Deines's trainer threw in the towel to stop the fight, leading Beterbiev to keep his knockout and undefeated streaks alive. His record was once more at risk in his next fight, against Marcus Browne, who cut Beterbiev in the beginning of the fifth. The cut was bad enough that the referee told him he may only be allowed one more round, but Beterbiev took over the fight and knocked Browne down twice in the ninth to earn the knockout.

As noted above, Artur Beterbiev and his Russian-born wife, Medina, moved to Montreal (more specifically, the Town of Mount Royal), where the couple raised their four children, two of whom were born in Canada. He moved to the city to fight out of North America and to work with trainer Marc Ramsay, and though the two struggled to communicate with each other (Beterbiev did not initially speak English, and Ramsay did not speak Russian), they used an interpreter until Beterbiev learned English. Beterbiev is known to have a dry sense of humor and self-deprecating nature. Unlike many fighters, he does not indulge in the common vices of boxers (drinking, gambling, or chasing women), but is a devout Muslim and lives a simple life.

Artur Beterbiev is a Russian-Canadian professional boxer, andwho has held the title for light-heavyweight champion in the International Boxing Federation (IBF), the World Boxing Council (WBC), and Worldingthe World Boxing Organization (WBO). Beterbiev has held at least one belt since 2017, when he defeated Enrico Koelling to win the IBF title. His professional record in January 2024 was 20-0 with 20twenty knockouts.

Although born in Khasavyurt, Dagestan, and being of Chechen descent, Beterbiev has lived in Montreal, Canada, since he moved there in 2013 and is a Canadian citizen with a Canadian passport, Canadian residency, and a boxing license from Canada. Further, his children were born in Canada. After the WBC, IBF, and WBO announced they would not certify fights involving boxers from Russia or Belarus, Beterbiev has begun fighting as a Canadian and out of Montreal to maintain his titles. The majority of Beterbiev's professional boxing career has been fought in Canada and the United States.

Born Artur Asilbekovich Beterbiev, Artur is of Chechen descent and was born in the city of Khasavyurt, in the republic of Dagestan, Russia. Beterbiev's hometown is known for its wrestling pedigree, having produced numerous Olympic qualifiers in the sport, and Beterbiev would himselfdid wrestle for a time before he was drawn itoto boxing. He has credited his four brothers with bringing him to a boxing gym to keep him off of the streets, which inas Dagestan, which is noted for its organized crime, where kidnapping and violence isare known to flourish, was incredibly important. Artur has stated that, when he was young, he worked at a local gas station where he earned a negligible wage, and was drawn to street-fighting to earn money. His brothers directed his aggression and natural talent to a boxing gym.

In 1991, when Beterbiev was only six, the Soviet Union broke up, which complicated life for those living in former Soviet Union countries. This was further made fraught during the two Chechen wars for independence, which claimed countless thousands of lives, and which saw the Beterbiev household swell to thirty members at one point as they attempted to shelter refugees. The large family struggled, which only increasedworsened when, in 2001, Beterbiev's father died in a car accident. His father had been the only financial income for the family, and following his death, Artur's brothers worked to financially support the family and Artur juringduring his junior and amateur career.

Artur would stormstormed into his amateur career, taking him only six months to win his first local junior championship and begin an upward trajectory. By 2007, Beterbiev would winwon silver at the 2007 World Championships. He would also winwon the 2006 and 2010 European ChampionshipChampionships. In 2008, he won the World Cup, and in 2009, he would reachreached what some have argued is the top of Beterbiev's amateur career winningcareer—winning the gold medal at the World Championships in Milan, Italy. In 2010, when he won his second European Championship, Beterbiev was named as the International Boxing Association's best amatueramateur boxer of the world.

Artur's amateur career saw him partake in over 100one hundred fights, with Beterbiev stating that he stopped counting his fights once they passed 100one hundred. During those bouts, he would facefaced and earnearned victories over Sergey Kovalev (who was previously a light heavyweight champion with the IBF, WBO, and WBA), Michael Hunter, Jr., Abbos Atoev, and Evgeny Makarenko, which furthered Beterbiev's amateur reputation. His ultimate goal of his amateur career, however, was of becoming an Olympic champion. Qualifying for both the Beijing 2008 Olympics and London 2012 Olympics, that ultimate amateur goal would remain outremained of Beterbiev's reach.

Entering his professional career, Beterbiev moved to Montreal, Canada, to box out of that city and gain access to the North American boxing circuit. He brought with him a reputation for exceptional punching power, having won many of his amateur fights (and later his professional fights) by knockout or stoppage. In Montreal, Beterbiev signed with international boxing promoter Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM), and began working with his coach Marc Ramsay, previously a trainer offor the Canadian amateur boxing team from 2001 to 2004.

Incidentally, Beterbiev would make his pro-debut at the famous Bell Centre in Montreal on June 8, 2013. Beterbiev won the fight after a technical knockout against Christian Cruz, and Artur would go on to win his next four professional fights, leading him to a September 27, 2014, Light Heavyweight championship fight against IBF world champinonchampion Travoris Cloud. From the beginning of the fight, Beterbiev imposed his will through his punching power, dropping Cloud three times in the first round, the first time Cloud had ever been dropped in his career. The fight would endended in the second round when, following a devastating combination whichthat included multiple hard shots to the head, Cloud was knocked out and unable to return before the refereesreferee's count, earning Beterbiev his first professional title.

Following this win, Beterbiev continued a climb toward the top of his division. His punching power saw his first eight bouts fail to last beyond the fourth round, with Beterbiev earning stoppage wins each time. On his first major US TV network fight, Beterbiev dispatched previously undefeated Jeff Page Jr. in the second round and winningwon the previously vacant IBF North American and WBO-NABO light-heavyweight titles. Following this win, Beterbiev fought Gabriel Campillo, a former WBA light-heavyweight world champion, at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City for the number two spot in the IBF world rankings. Beterbiev dropped Campillo late in the first, before landing a straight uppercut in the fourth round that would leave Campillo knocked out.

On June 12, 2015, Beterbiev took on veteran boxer Alexander Johnson. The fight lasted seven rounds, with Beterbiev using his impressive punching power to knock Johnson down twice in the fifth round and a third time in the seventh round before he finished the fight in the seventh round. With the win, Beterbiev was able to add the previously-vacantpreviously vacant WBO International light-heavyweight title along with the four other titles he had previously earned. Beterbiev would then taketook time off for a shoulder injury, before returning to the Bell Centre on June 4, 2016, to face Ezequiel Maderna, whowhom he would defeat by stoppage in the fourth round. Beterbiev furthered his record with a defeat of Isidro Prieto (who had only previously lost in a decision), which begunbegan with a hard right hand to Prieto's hand, which dropped him for the first time in Prieto's career. Beterbiev followed with a barrage of punches befoebefore the referee stopped the fight.

Beterbiev would enterentered his 12thtwelfth professional fight on November 2017 against Enrico Koelling. The fight would lastlasted twelve rounds, with Beterbieve dominating the German boxer for all twelve rounds before the fight was stopped in the twelfth round. With the win, Beterbiev won the IBF light heavyweight title, which had previously been vacated by Andre Ward. He also preserved his knockout streak with the twelfth roundtwelfth-round fight stoppage, and kept his undefeated record. In his next fight, Beterbiev was partially exposed by Callum Johson, who landed some heavy hits in the second round, but Beterbiev was able to drop Johnson in the fourth round and maintained his perfect record and his title.

Following these fights came one of Beterbiev's more remarkable fights as he took on Radivoje "Hot Rod" Kalajdzic in his second IBF light heavyweight world title defense. The fight saw Beterbiev knock down Kalajdzic at the end of the third-round,third round before they traded haymakers in the fourth. Coming out in the fifth round, Beterbiev pinned Kalajdzic to the ropes and unloaded on his head and body before the referee stepped in to end the fight. Following the Kalajdzic fight, Beterbiev would fight to unify his titles against Oleksandr Gvozdyk. The fight was a close, competitive, and exciting fight, but Beterbiev steadily broke down Gvozdyk towardstoward the 10thtenth round. In the 10thtenth round, Beterbiev scored three knockdowns for a technical knockout victory, keeping Beterbiev's knockout record alive.

Artur Beterbiev would followfollowed with a title defense against Adam Deines. The fight would see Beterbiev take 10ten rounds to defeat Adam Deines, despite the odds suggesting it would be a short fight. Deines was dropped once in the first round, and once in the tenth, wherewhen a short left hook sent Deines to his gloves and knees. Despite beating the count, Deines's trainer wouldthrew throwin the towel in to stop the fight, leading Beterbiev to Beterbiev keepingkeep his knockout and undefeated streaks alive. His record was once more at risk in his next fight, against Marcus Browne, who cut Beterbiev in the beginingbeginning of the fifth. The cut was bad enough that the referee told him he may only be allowed one more round, but Beterbiev would taketook over the fight and knocked Browne down twice in the ninth to earn the knockout.

Artur Beterbiev would win his third light-heavyweight title after defeating Joe Smith Jr. The fight was a main event, and billed as a can't misscan't-miss fight, but. Beterbiev would scorescored three knockdowns of Smith before he earned a second-round technical knockout (TKO) to capture the victory, maintain his undefeated and knockoutundefeated/knockout streak, and unify the three titles.

The next fight, against Anthony Yarde, would bewas a title defense for Beterbiev's unified WBC, WBO, and IBF titles. The bout would bewas a hard, bruising battle, whereand Yarde sought to set the pace of the fight. He was successful in many cases, capable of landing punishing hits on Beterbiev before Artur was able to catch Yarde with a left hook. Beterbiev pushed his advantage and blasted Yard with punches into the fifth round, before he stumbled once more against Yarde's attempts to push the pace. In the eighteighth round, however, Beterbiev found his shots, and stunned Yarde before putting him down. Seeing Yarde was badly hurt, the referee ended the fight, signaling another knockout for Beterbiev and another successful title defense.

Following his successful defense from Yarde, Beterbiev set up for his 20thtwentieth fight against Callum Smith. Beterbiev was set to defend his unified title once again. The fight was Smith's opportunity to become a two-weight world champion. However, the fight was partially delayed due to a bone infection in Beterbiev's jaw. Once determined that Beterbiev was healthy, the fight was scheduled to take place in Quebec City, Canada.

The fight began with fireworks, as Smith was forced to walk through fire as Beterbiev trapped him against the ropes. However, Smith came back in the second round and sought to take advantage of Beterbiev's loss of momentum. Instead, Beterbiev recovered, and began to take advantage of one of Smith's weaknesses: shotsweaknesses—shots to his body. In Round 7, Smith was downed, tasting canvas for the first time in his career. Beterbiev did not let him off easy, and continued to assault Smith, before dropping him again in the same round. Smith beat the count, but Beterbiev showcased his knockout power to drop Smith again. After the third drop, Smith's trainer entered the ring to waive the fight and protect his end, earning Beterbiev his twentieth straight win and twentieth straight knockout. Following the defeat, Beterbiev set his sights on a fight with Dmitry Bivol and a chance to hold four light-heavyweight belts.

As noted above, Artur Beterbiev and his Russian-born wife, Medina, moved to Montreal (more specifically, the Town of Mount Royal), where the couple raiseraised their four children, two of whom were born in Canada. He moved to the city to fight out of North America, and to work with trainer Marc Ramsay, and though the two struggled to communicate with each other (Beterbiev did not initially speak English, and Ramsay did not speak Russian), they used an interpreter until Beterbiev learned English. Beterbiev is known to have a dry sense of humor and self-deprecating nature. Unlike many fighters, he does not indulge in the common vices of boxers (drinking, gambling, or chasing women), but asis a devout Muslim and lives a simple life.

For people who follow the current situation in boxing, it has long been no news that the most successful and popular weight category for Russian boxers is light heavyweight. And the main star here is Artur Beterbiev. On December 18, Beterbiev will have to enter the ring again to defend his status. The opponent will be a long-armed and viscous American Marcus Brown. And today's article will introduce you to interesting facts from the life of the Russian champion.

Artur Beterbiev is a Russian-Canadian professional boxer, and has held the title for light-heavyweight champion in the International Boxing Federation (IBF), the World Boxing Council (WBC), and Worlding Boxing Organization (WBO). Beterbiev has held at least one belt since 2017, when he defeated Enrico Koelling to win the IBF title. His professional record in January 2024 was 20-0 with 20 knockouts.

Lived with refugees

Artur Beterbiev was born on January 21, 1985 in the city of Khasavyurt in southern Russia. There were four children in the family, all actively engaged in sports. One of the most memorable childhood events happened to Arthur at the age of about 10 years. During the first Chechen war, many civilians suffered and were left homeless. There was no war in Khasavyurt itself, but a fairly large flow of migrating families passed through it. The Beterbiev family had to shelter refugees at home several times. At times, the number of strangers in the apartment reached 30 people.

"At that time our house was still unfinished, there was no second floor, some rooms, but we still found a place for everyone. The boys in their rooms, the girls in their own - that's how they lived"

Artur Beterbiev

Artur Beterbiev.

Although born in Khasavyurt, Dagestan, and being of Chechen descent, Beterbiev has lived in Montreal, Canada since he moved there in 2013 and is a Canadian citizen with a Canadian passport, Canadian residency, and a boxing license from Canada. Further, his children were born in Canada. After the WBC, IBF, and WBO announced they would not certify fights involving boxers from Russia or Belarus, Beterbiev has begun fighting as a Canadian and out of Montreal to maintain his titles. The majority of Beterbiev's professional boxing career has been fought in Canada and the United States.

Born Artur Asilbekovich Beterbiev, Artur is of Chechen descent and was born in the city of Khasavyurt, in the republic of Dagestan, Russia. Beterbiev's hometown is known for its wrestling pedigree, having produced numerous Olympic qualifiers in the sport, and Beterbiev would himself wrestle for a time before he was drawn ito boxing. He has credited his four brothers with bringing him to a boxing gym to keep him off of the streets, which in Dagestan, which is noted for its organized crime, where kidnapping and violence is known to flourish, was incredibly important. Artur has stated that, when young, he worked at a local gas station where he earned a negligible wage, and was drawn to street-fighting to earn money. His brothers directed his aggression and natural talent to a boxing gym.

In 1991, when Beterbiev was only six, the Soviet Union broke up which complicated life for those living in former Soviet Union countries. This was further made fraught during the two Chechen wars for independence which claimed countless thousands of lives, and which saw the Beterbiev household swell to thirty members at one point as they attempted to shelter refugees. The large family struggled, which only increased when, in 2001, Beterbiev's father died in a car accident. His father had been the only financial income for the family, and following his death, Artur's brothers worked to financially support the family and Artur juring his junior and amateur career.

Artur would storm into his amateur career, taking him only six months to win his first local junior championship and begin an upward trajectory. By 2007, Beterbiev would win silver at the 2007 World Championships. He would also win the 2006 and 2010 European Championship. In 2008 he won the World Cup, and in 2009 he would reach what some have argued the top of Beterbiev's amateur career winning the gold medal at the World Championships in Milan, Italy. In 2010, when he won his second European Championship, Beterbiev was named as the International Boxing Association's best amatuer boxer of the world.

Lost my father early

After the third place at the World Youth Championship, Artur Beterbiev returned home with the team. The father did not really approve of his son's hobbies in boxing, as he wanted him to get a good education. But after this tournament, I can say that I blessed Arthur for the development of his sports career. Five days after these words, Asilbek Beterbiev got into a serious accident, lost a lot of blood, and it was not possible to save him.

"He was carrying passengers, he drove slowly: on the highway about 80 kilometers per hour. Who was next to Dad, they said that he turned the car at the last moment so that the blow fell on him"

Artur Beterbiev

He lived in Moscow on 150 rubles a month

The death of his father hit the Beterbiev family very hard. Arthur even thought for a while to give up boxing altogether, but after gathering his strength, he continued training. The mother persuaded the 16-year-old boy to go to Moscow, where he eventually managed to enroll in the RSUFC. But life in the capital was not so sunny either. The scholarship at the university was only 150 rubles a month, and boxing did not bring any funds at that time.

"It helped that they fed us at the school, gave us a uniform. I usually didn't take the scholarship right away, but waited for a bigger amount to accumulate there."

Artur Beterbiev

Huge amateur experience

Artur Beterbiev's main dream in boxing was Olympic gold. Unfortunately, it was not possible to get him, but there are other significant successes in Beterbiev's track record. In 2006, Arthur went to the European Championship for the first time and managed to win gold. In the final, the technical Ukrainian boxer Ismail Sila was defeated. The second gold of the European Championship will be in 2010. And before that, Arthur will become World Champion and take silver in Chicago. Another Ukrainian boxer, Alexander Usyk, became a stumbling block for Beterbiev's amateur career. During their entire amateur career, the boxers met three times, and only once did Arthur manage to win. One of the two defeats, by the way, was in the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games in London, where the Ukrainian eventually took gold.

"What surprised Usyk? He moves well on his feet, constantly in motion, it's hard to hit a running target. But he didn't really surprise me with anything."

Artur Beterbiev

Conflict with Sergey Kovalev

Sergey Kovalev and Artur Beterbiev met for the first time at the Russian Boxing Championship in 2007. The score in the duel was in favor of Kovalev, but towards the end Beterbiev managed to take advantage. The victory was given to Arthur, but many were unhappy with this decision. However, there was no conflict between the boxers at that time, it happened much later, when both performed professionally. In March 2015, after a number of successful performances, Arthur said that he plans to continue in the same spirit and expects to meet with Kovalev to "beat him again." Sergey decided not to remain silent and said that the last victory was a "gift from the judges" for Beterbiev. In addition, Kovalev spoke about sparring sessions in which he allegedly constantly dominated Arthur. The conflict between the fighters flared up mainly on the Internet and after the interview. However, they never met in the ring.

"For me, this story is not closed. If we had met in the ring, he would have answered me for his words. But since we are not cowboys to shoot on the street, but still boxers, we did not meet."

Artur Beterbiev

Lives and trains in Canada

Now Artur Beterbiev is a successful boxer and champion, but when he was just starting out as a professional, signing a contract with a promoter was a problem. Having received no interesting offers in Europe, Beterbiev decided to try his luck in Canada and did not lose. Since 2013, Arthur has been living and training in Montreal under the guidance of Mark Ramsey. At first it was hard to get used to, but the boxer adapted and even learned English and a few phrases in French.

"I went to Canada only because of my job. We can say that now I am seconded to Montreal, I am there on a temporary business trip"

Artur Beterbiev

Named the blow in honor of the opponent

Artur Beterbiev is certainly one of the most striking boxers of our time. But in order to drop your opponents, you need not just to have a good shot, but also to have a certain technique. In battle, Beterbiev keeps his hands close to the body and often attacks in short series, which, as you know, are the most unexpected. One of these blows is the right one from below without turning the brush. With it, Arthur knocked out Gabriel Campillo, and Mark Ramsey was so impressed that he has since called such a blow "Campillo".

Beterbiev has a big family

Artur Beterbiev has a really big family. Together with the boxer, his wife, four children and mother live in Canada. Children play sports, go to a local school not far from home and even learn several languages. Arthur's eldest son speaks Russian, Chechen, English and French, which, of course, cannot but surprise. At first, the family was getting used to the new way of life quite hard, but gradually they managed to settle in and adapt.

I had only one fight in Russia

Having moved to the North American mainland in 2013, Artur Beterbiev held all his fights there until March 2021. It was this year that Beterbiev held his first professional fight outside the USA and Canada – in Moscow. The opponent was the German boxer Adam Dines, and the fight ended with a technical knockout in the 10th round in favor of the Russian boxer.

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about a potential duel of the Russian champion against the first line of the pound-for-pound rating Saul Alvarez. Beterbiev declared that he was ready to fight, but so far nothing has progressed beyond conversations. Now the rival of the Russian boxer will be Marcus Brown, and Arthur approaches the confrontation as a clear favorite. Many people say that Brown is literally being thrown to the slaughter of a Russian, and bookmakers give sky-high odds for an American to win. The bookmaker Winline offers to bet on Beterbiev's victory for 1.1, Brown - 7.6.

Artur Beterbiev during an Olympic fight.

Artur's amateur career saw him partake in over 100 fights, with Beterbiev stating that he stopped counting his fights once they passed 100. During those bouts, he would face and earn victories over Sergey Kovalev (who was previously a light heavyweight champion with the IBF, WBO, and WBA), Michael Hunter, Jr., Abbos Atoev, and Evgeny Makarenko, which furthered Beterbiev's amateur reputation. His ultimate goal of his amateur career, however, was of becoming an Olympic champion. Qualifying for both the Beijing 2008 Olympics and London 2012 Olympics, that ultimate amateur goal would remain out of Beterbiev's reach.

Entering his professional career, Beterbiev moved to Montreal, Canada, to box out of that city and gain access to the North American boxing circuit. He brought with him a reputation for exceptional punching power, having won many of his amateur fights (and later his professional fights) by knockout or stoppage. In Montreal, Beterbiev signed with international boxing promoter Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM), and began working with his coach Marc Ramsay, previously a trainer of the Canadian amateur boxing team from 2001 to 2004.

Beterbiev lands a blow during his match against Travoris Cloud.

Incidentally, Beterbiev would make his pro-debut at the famous Bell Centre in Montreal on June 8, 2013. Beterbiev won the fight after a technical knockout against Christian Cruz, and Artur would go on to win his next four professional fights, leading him to a September 27, 2014 Light Heavyweight championship fight against IBF world champinon Travoris Cloud. From the beginning of the fight, Beterbiev imposed his will through his punching power, dropping Cloud three times in the first round, the first time Cloud had ever been dropped in his career. The fight would end in the second round when, following a devastating combination which included multiple hard shots to the head, Cloud was knocked out and unable to return before the referees count, earning Beterbiev his first professional title.

Beterbiev watches as Gabriel Campillo goes down.

Following this win, Beterbiev continued a climb toward the top of his division. His punching power saw his first eight bouts fail to last beyond the fourth round, with Beterbiev earning stoppage wins each time. On his first major US TV network fight, Beterbiev dispatched previously undefeated Jeff Page Jr. in the second round and winning the previously vacant IBF North American and WBO-NABO light-heavyweight titles. Following this win, Beterbiev fought Gabriel Campillo, a former WBA light-heavyweight world champion at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City for the number two spot in the IBF world rankings. Beterbiev dropped Campillo late in the first, before landing a straight uppercut in the fourth round that would leave Campillo knocked out.

Beterbiev lands a punch on Ezequiel Maderna

On June 12, 2015, Beterbiev took on veteran boxer Alexander Johnson. The fight lasted seven rounds, with Beterbiev using his impressive punching power to knock Johnson down twice in the fifth round and a third time in the seventh round before he finished the fight in the seventh round. With the win, Beterbiev was able to add the previously-vacant WBO International light-heavyweight title along with the four other titles he had previously earned. Beterbiev would then take time off for a shoulder injury, before returning to the Bell Centre on June 4, 2016 to face Ezequiel Maderna, who he would defeat by stoppage in the fourth round. Beterbiev furthered his record with a defeat of Isidro Prieto (who had only previously lost in a decision), which begun with a hard right hand to Prieto's hand which dropped him for the first time in Prieto's career. Beterbiev followed with a barrage of punches befoe the referee stopped the fight.

Beterbiev would enter his 12th professional fight on November 2017 against Enrico Koelling. The fight would last twelve rounds, with Beterbieve dominating the German boxer for all twelve rounds before the fight was stopped in the twelfth round. With the win, Beterbiev won the IBF light heavyweight title, which had previously been vacated by Andre Ward. He also preserved his knockout streak with the twelfth round fight stoppage, and kept his undefeated record. In his next fight, Beterbiev was partially exposed by Callum Johson, who landed some heavy hits in the second round, but Beterbiev was able to drop Johnson in the fourth round and maintained his perfect record and his title.

Beterbiev lands a punch through Kalajdzic's defense.

Following these fights came one of Beterbiev's more remarkable fights as he took on Radivoje "Hot Rod" Kalajdzic in his second IBF light heavyweight world title defense. The fight saw Beterbiev knock down Kalajdzic at the end of the third-round, before they traded haymakers in the fourth. Coming out in the fifth round, Beterbiev pinned Kalajdzic to the ropes and unloaded on his head and body before the referee stepped in to end the fight. Following the Kalajdzic fight, Beterbiev would fight to unify his titles against Oleksandr Gvozdyk. The fight was a close, competitive, and exciting fight, but Beterbiev steadily broke down Gvozdyk towards the 10th round. In the 10th round, Beterbiev scored three knockdowns for a technical knockout victory, keeping Beterbiev's knockout record alive.

Artur Beterbiev would follow with a title defense against Adam Deines. The fight would see Beterbiev take 10 rounds to defeat Adam Deines, despite the odds suggesting it would be a short fight. Deines was dropped once in the first round, and once in the tenth where a short left hook sent Deines to his gloves and knees. Despite beating the count, Deines trainer would throw the towel in to stop the fight, leading to Beterbiev keeping his knockout and undefeated streaks alive. His record was once more at risk in his next fight, against Marcus Browne, who cut Beterbiev in the begining of the fifth. The cut was bad enough that the referee told him he may only be allowed one more round, but Beterbiev would take over the fight and knocked Browne down twice in the ninth to earn the knockout.

Beterbiev survives a terrible cut to defeat Marcus Browne.

Artur Beterbiev would win his third light-heavyweight title after defeating Joe Smith Jr. The fight was a main event, and billed as a can't miss fight, but Beterbiev would score three knockdowns of Smith before he earned a second-round technical knockout (TKO) to capture the victory, maintain his undefeated and knockout streak, and unify the three titles.

Beterbiev with his three light-heavyweight title belts.

The next fight, against Anthony Yarde, would be a title defense for Beterbiev's unified WBC, WBO, and IBF titles. The bout would be a hard, bruising battle, where Yarde sought to set the pace of the fight. He was successful in many cases, capable of landing punishing hits on Beterbiev before Artur was able to catch Yarde with a left hook. Beterbiev pushed his advantage and blasted Yard with punches into the fifth round, before he stumbled once more against Yarde's attempts to push the pace. In the eight round, however, Beterbiev found his shots, and stunned Yarde before putting him down. Seeing Yarde was badly hurt, the referee ended the fight, signaling another knockout for Beterbiev and another successful title defense.

Following his successful defense from Yarde, Beterbiev set up for his 20th fight against Callum Smith. Beterbiev was set to defend his unified title once again. The fight was Smith's opportunity to become a two-weight world champion. However, the fight was partially delayed due to a bone infection in Beterbiev's jaw. Once determined Beterbiev was healthy, the fight was scheduled to take place in Quebec City, Canada.

Beterbiev catches Callum Smith in the body.

The fight began with fireworks, as Smith was forced to walk through fire as Beterbiev trapped him against the ropes. However, Smith came back in the second round and sought to take advantage of Beterbiev's loss of momentum. Instead, Beterbiev recovered, and began to take advantage of one of Smith's weaknesses: shots to his body. In Round 7, Smith was downed, tasting canvas for the first time in his career. Beterbiev did not let him off easy, continued to assault Smith, before dropping him again in the same round. Smith beat the count, but Beterbiev showcased his knockout power to drop Smith again. After the third drop, Smith's trainer entered the ring to waive the fight and protect his end, earning Beterbiev his twentieth straight win and twentieth straight knockout. Following the defeat, Beterbiev set his sights on a fight with Dmitry Bivol and a chance to hold four light-heavyweight belts.

Beterbiev training in Montreal.

As noted above, Artur Beterbiev and his Russian-born wife Medina, moved to Montreal (more specifically, the Town of Mount Royal) where the couple raise their four children, two of whom were born in Canada. He moved to the city to fight out of North America, and to work with trainer Marc Ramsay, and though the two struggled to communicate with each other (Beterbiev did not initially speak English, and Ramsay did not speak Russian) they used an interpreter until Beterbiev learned English. Beterbiev is known to have a dry sense of humor and self-deprecating nature. Unlike many fighters, he does not indulge in the common vices of boxers (drinking, gambling, or chasing women), but as a devout Muslim lives a simple life.

For people who follow the current situation in boxing, it has long been no news that the most successful and popular weight category for Russian boxers is light heavyweight. And the main star here is Artur Beterbiev. On December 18, Beterbiev will have to enter the ring again to defend his status. The opponent will be a long-armed and viscous American Marcus Brown. And today's article will introduce you to interesting facts from the life of the Russian champion.

Lived with refugees

Artur Beterbiev was born on January 21, 1985 in the city of Khasavyurt in southern Russia. There were four children in the family, all actively engaged in sports. One of the most memorable childhood events happened to Arthur at the age of about 10 years. During the first Chechen war, many civilians suffered and were left homeless. There was no war in Khasavyurt itself, but a fairly large flow of migrating families passed through it. The Beterbiev family had to shelter refugees at home several times. At times, the number of strangers in the apartment reached 30 people.

"At that time our house was still unfinished, there was no second floor, some rooms, but we still found a place for everyone. The boys in their rooms, the girls in their own - that's how they lived"

Artur Beterbiev

Lost my father early

After the third place at the World Youth Championship, Artur Beterbiev returned home with the team. The father did not really approve of his son's hobbies in boxing, as he wanted him to get a good education. But after this tournament, I can say that I blessed Arthur for the development of his sports career. Five days after these words, Asilbek Beterbiev got into a serious accident, lost a lot of blood, and it was not possible to save him.

"He was carrying passengers, he drove slowly: on the highway about 80 kilometers per hour. Who was next to Dad, they said that he turned the car at the last moment so that the blow fell on him"

Artur Beterbiev

He lived in Moscow on 150 rubles a month

The death of his father hit the Beterbiev family very hard. Arthur even thought for a while to give up boxing altogether, but after gathering his strength, he continued training. The mother persuaded the 16-year-old boy to go to Moscow, where he eventually managed to enroll in the RSUFC. But life in the capital was not so sunny either. The scholarship at the university was only 150 rubles a month, and boxing did not bring any funds at that time.

"It helped that they fed us at the school, gave us a uniform. I usually didn't take the scholarship right away, but waited for a bigger amount to accumulate there."

Artur Beterbiev

Huge amateur experience

Artur Beterbiev's main dream in boxing was Olympic gold. Unfortunately, it was not possible to get him, but there are other significant successes in Beterbiev's track record. In 2006, Arthur went to the European Championship for the first time and managed to win gold. In the final, the technical Ukrainian boxer Ismail Sila was defeated. The second gold of the European Championship will be in 2010. And before that, Arthur will become World Champion and take silver in Chicago. Another Ukrainian boxer, Alexander Usyk, became a stumbling block for Beterbiev's amateur career. During their entire amateur career, the boxers met three times, and only once did Arthur manage to win. One of the two defeats, by the way, was in the quarterfinals of the Olympic Games in London, where the Ukrainian eventually took gold.

"What surprised Usyk? He moves well on his feet, constantly in motion, it's hard to hit a running target. But he didn't really surprise me with anything."

Artur Beterbiev

Conflict with Sergey Kovalev

Sergey Kovalev and Artur Beterbiev met for the first time at the Russian Boxing Championship in 2007. The score in the duel was in favor of Kovalev, but towards the end Beterbiev managed to take advantage. The victory was given to Arthur, but many were unhappy with this decision. However, there was no conflict between the boxers at that time, it happened much later, when both performed professionally. In March 2015, after a number of successful performances, Arthur said that he plans to continue in the same spirit and expects to meet with Kovalev to "beat him again." Sergey decided not to remain silent and said that the last victory was a "gift from the judges" for Beterbiev. In addition, Kovalev spoke about sparring sessions in which he allegedly constantly dominated Arthur. The conflict between the fighters flared up mainly on the Internet and after the interview. However, they never met in the ring.

"For me, this story is not closed. If we had met in the ring, he would have answered me for his words. But since we are not cowboys to shoot on the street, but still boxers, we did not meet."

Artur Beterbiev

Lives and trains in Canada

Now Artur Beterbiev is a successful boxer and champion, but when he was just starting out as a professional, signing a contract with a promoter was a problem. Having received no interesting offers in Europe, Beterbiev decided to try his luck in Canada and did not lose. Since 2013, Arthur has been living and training in Montreal under the guidance of Mark Ramsey. At first it was hard to get used to, but the boxer adapted and even learned English and a few phrases in French.

"I went to Canada only because of my job. We can say that now I am seconded to Montreal, I am there on a temporary business trip"

Artur Beterbiev

Named the blow in honor of the opponent

Artur Beterbiev is certainly one of the most striking boxers of our time. But in order to drop your opponents, you need not just to have a good shot, but also to have a certain technique. In battle, Beterbiev keeps his hands close to the body and often attacks in short series, which, as you know, are the most unexpected. One of these blows is the right one from below without turning the brush. With it, Arthur knocked out Gabriel Campillo, and Mark Ramsey was so impressed that he has since called such a blow "Campillo".

Beterbiev has a big family

Artur Beterbiev has a really big family. Together with the boxer, his wife, four children and mother live in Canada. Children play sports, go to a local school not far from home and even learn several languages. Arthur's eldest son speaks Russian, Chechen, English and French, which, of course, cannot but surprise. At first, the family was getting used to the new way of life quite hard, but gradually they managed to settle in and adapt.

I had only one fight in Russia

Having moved to the North American mainland in 2013, Artur Beterbiev held all his fights there until March 2021. It was this year that Beterbiev held his first professional fight outside the USA and Canada – in Moscow. The opponent was the German boxer Adam Dines, and the fight ended with a technical knockout in the 10th round in favor of the Russian boxer.

Recently, there has been a lot of talk about a potential duel of the Russian champion against the first line of the pound-for-pound rating Saul Alvarez. Beterbiev declared that he was ready to fight, but so far nothing has progressed beyond conversations. Now the rival of the Russian boxer will be Marcus Brown, and Arthur approaches the confrontation as a clear favorite. Many people say that Brown is literally being thrown to the slaughter of a Russian, and bookmakers give sky-high odds for an American to win. The bookmaker Winline offers to bet on Beterbiev's victory for 1.1, Brown - 7.6.