Eddie Hearn Praises Artur Beterbiev: “You’re Fighting A Guy That’s Not Human”

Eddie Hearn has nothing but praise for Artur Beterbiev following his stoppage win over Callum Smith.

Entering the fight, Hearn had confidence in Smith that he would be able to pull off the upset. However, Beterbiev dominated the fight from start-to-finish and got the stoppage which impressed Hearn.

“You’re fighting a guy that’s not human,” Hearn told Boxing News. “He’s not breathing, every short hurts. Even in the clinches you see how strong he is. I’m not sure anything like it before really. It’s like it’s not right. It’s like an unfair advantage. I thought Beterbiev was good defensively tonight as well. He was a lot more switched on and sharp because I think he knew about the power of Callum Smith.”

With Artur Beterbiev getting the win, it’s expected he will face Dmitry Bivol next time out. It’s an intriguing matchup and Hearn, who also promotes Bivol believes his technical striking could be the difference.

“I always back our guys. I truly believed Callum Smith would win tonight and I truly believe that Bivol would win but that’s the second time I’ve seen him up close and he’s actually a lot better than he was against Callum Johnson [who Beterbiev got off the floor to beat in 2018]. I know he’s getting older and you hope he’s slowing down but he’s not. That was – I thought – one of his best performances,” Hearn said.

“Dmitry Bivol has tremendous movement but you’ve almost got to make a dent. It’s very difficult to outbox him over 12 rounds. He’s gonna wear you down and force the pressure and the shots around the back of the head and on the ears really hurt. I think Dmitry can do it but it’s the only fight for both guys now,” Hearn added.

Do you think Dmitry Bivol will beat Artur Beterbiev?