By now, the word is already long spread that Dmitry Bivol is up against Artur Beterbiev for their trilogy fight at year-end, headlining the main event on the Riyadh Season. Whoever wins this time will keep the IBF, WBA, and WBO belts, becoming the unified light heavyweight champion. But didn’t Bivol win all four belts in the division in the duo’s February sequel fight? Well, for those who are not keeping track, the Russian boxer vacated his IBF title to pursue this fight.

You see, David Benavidez is now the WBC champion after failing to get his demanded mandatory shot at Dmitry Bivol’s title, Ring Magazine’s Matt Penn announced three months ago, conveying WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman’s words. So, the trilogy is not going to be a mirror to last year’s October fight, in which the Canadian boxer became the undisputed champion of the division, or the second bout in which the 34-year-old claimed all four titles.

It will be the final clash, giving the boxing community their deserved champion. And it looks like the training is already going strong in both camps. Hours ago, the American boxing publication, the Ring Magazine, shared a clip from the 21-1 boxer’s conditioning time on their Instagram handle @ringmagazine. “Ring Magazine light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol going to work in the gym 💪,” the caption read. It was a nod to the title he won in his second showdown against Beterbiev.

You could see the elite boxer throwing jabs, crosses, and an uppercut, while classically moving ahead with step-dragging footwork in an enclosed gym studio during mitt-work. Smooth, just like butter melting over pancakes. The fact that Finesse by Michael Prince was playing in the background? No big deal. Only that the fans must have surely played it on a loop to absorb the aura Bivol poured out! Near the end of the 16-second reel, he made a vertical fist bump with his trainer. What happened next? Well, some fans were very impressed, while a few thought that the champ was overrated. Let’s see it for ourselves, shall we?

Dmitry Bivol’s boxing skills captivate fans’ attention

In the comments section, one of the fans wrote, “Looks so smooth!! 👏👏.” And who wouldn’t think that? After all, his fluid movement and ring generalship were the core reasons that bought him a unanimous decision victory over the Mexican star, Canelo Alvarez back in 2022.

“The best fighter in the WORLD 🥇👑,” wrote another aficionado, making his opinion loud and clear.

Then, praising all the boxers who were from Russia, a fan tossed in his generalized appreciation—“The Soviet boxing style at the highest level. Always a great stylistic matchup with Mexican boxing styles 👀 😂.” That was a shot at Cinnamon, too.

“Probably the one person that doesn’t get called out… ever and for good reason,” another fan commented, pointing out that while most boxers are engaged in a feud, calling their rivals out for a fight, nobody does that to Bivol. Because after all, who would want to get played with in the ring? The 24-1 boxer controls his pace, distance, and positioning to the mark where he already knows he’s four moves ahead in his head.

“nobody is faster and more accurate than him in this division,” one more comment mirrored the previous compliment. While also calling Bivol the best in his division. From this fan’s perspective, none of the other boxers at 175 pounds are as good as Bivol, including the 21-1 boxer, Oleksandr Gvozdyk, Anthony Yarde, David Morrell, Benavidez, and Callum Smith.

Another one of his die-hard fans wrote, “Bivol is number 1 pound for pound i dont want to hear anything about it period .” Currently, Dmitry Bivol is at the fourth rank in the ESPN pound-for-pound list, higher than the Khasavyurt native whom he’ll soon be facing inside the boxing ropes. And even the undisputed super middleweight champ, Canelo.

Then, one of the critics dropped in his perspective. “Anybody can look good hitting the pads. They don’t hit back! It’s an orchestrated performance,” wrote he/she, realistically highlighting that mitts are no boxers. And that defense is just as important as offense.

“About as basic as it gets. Solid fighter but an all time great? Get outta here,” another boxing pundit commented. To him/her, Bivol sure is a really good fighter. Probably even one of the best. But an “all-time great” is an extension too far.

Some others thought that Bivol should fight the Mexican Monster already. “Crazy this man scared of Benavidez!” the comment read. To this critic, Dmitry Bivol is just ducking the fight out of fear. But how true is that? Well, we would know after the champion is off his matchup with Beterbiev. Until then, the ones who want to see an American-Russian crossover would need to wait.