Photo: Noé Cloutier – Artur Beterbiev, one of the most feared men in the sport.
At 38 years old, Artur Beterbiev is not slowing down. He’s the same force as when he first arrived in Quebec a decade ago. The years have passed, but in a context where he will make his 8th title defense on January 13th at the Centre Vidéotron, his primary source of motivation is even more surprising.
“To become a good boxer,” simply replies the unified champion.
You know, the language barrier fell a long time ago for King Artur. Still, whether in French, English, or Russian, he’s a man of few words. If he offers this brief answer with a smile, it’s because his sense of humor hasn’t diminished. Yet, his coach Marc Ramsay, who has spent the last 10 years deciphering the enigmatic character, sees four words that speak volumes.
“He jokes about it, but he’s serious in the sense that, for him, it’s a perpetual quest. Every decision he makes, what he puts into his body, his hours of sleep, are geared towards his boxing. It’s a bit like a Shaolin monk dedicating his life to perfecting something, knowing very well that perfection will never be attained, but trying every day to get as close as possible,” describes the coach of the athlete with a more than perfect record of 19-0, 19 KOs.
“A good challenge”
On January 13th, the Montreal monk from the mountains of Dagestan will try to get a little closer to perfection against Callum ‘Mundo’ Smith (29-1, 21 KOs). The former king of super-middleweights is ‘a good challenge,’ as Beterbiev indicates. For Marc Ramsay, who amplifies his pupil’s brief responses, it’s even one of the best tests encountered in recent years.
“He’s a very good boxer, a guy who hits hard. Often, we see guys with certain strengths and significant shortcomings. He is still pretty good in all departments, and besides, he’s game, meaning he won’t be impressed to face Artur because he’s already been in high-profile fights,” says the cornerman, noting that Smith’s only loss was at the hands of Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in one of the most watched fights of 2020.
The reconquest
Artur Beterbiev may be silent but not insensitive. After fighting in England in 2023 and in the United States in 2022, he will start the year 2024 with his grand return to his home country, and for someone with almost robotic concentration, that represents a world of difference.
“Sure, here is like my second home,” he says, as excited as he can be, while, with his bloody victory over Marcus Browne in 2021, this will only be his second appearance in Quebec in nearly seven years.
It was overdue, as they say. His last visit to the capital was in 2015, in a supporting fight presented at the old Colisée Pepsi. Nearly nine years later, here he is, with three belts, in a brand-new arena where nearly 10,000 people will come for him. And the city of Quebec was due too. It’s a reconquest of the market to bring the event here, but if Beterbiev could win, it would symbolically be that of a nation. We know, nearly three centuries ago, the British had the last word in the city of the Plains of Abraham…
One day perhaps
As Marc Ramsay explains, the mentality is to go “one fight at a time,” so it’s unnecessary to look too far ahead, especially with a boxer who will turn 39 before the end of January. Still, it’s legitimate to question how far the triple champion will push his quest. In fact, it’s more about asking: what makes a good boxer according to him?
“It’s how I feel; maybe when I have four belts, I’ll be that, but right now, I don’t feel like I’m a good boxer,” he concludes, without even wanting to talk about Dmitry Bivol because his trademark, you guessed it, is speaking in the ring, with his fists. On January 13th, it is therefore first with Callum Smith that he will discuss to keep his titles, and above all, continue his eternal quest…
