ARTUR BETERBIEV stands as boxing’s only champion with a 100 per cent knockout ratio – while also holding a rare win over Oleksandr Usyk.
The feared Russian has 19 wins all inside the distance with unified WBC, IBF and WBO light-heavyweight belts to his name.
But he was also an established amateur boxer, winning gold and silver medals in world and European championships.
Beterbiev shared a rivalry in the unpaid ranks with Usyk, coming out a 2-1 loser in their three-bout series.
And in their 2011 AIBA world championship quarter-final in Baku, he dropped the Ukrainian with a body shot.
Reflecting on the bouts, he told Sky Sports: “That time my weight was only 83kgs. I’ve never been 90kgs in a fight.
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“We had another fight too in the amateurs. There was a match [in Russia], I had fight with him there at 81kgs and I beat him on the first day.
“You know Oleksandr Usyk, he does his job very well. What I can say, good for him.”
Beterbiev, 38, returns on Saturday in a title defence against Britain’s Callum Smith, 33, in Canada.
Meanwhile Usyk, 36, faces Tyson Fury, 35, for the undisputed heavyweight crown on February 17 in Saudi Arabia.
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And Beterbiev backed Fury to defeat his old amateur rival.
He said: “I said when they fight, Oleksandr Usyk with Joshua, I said I think Joshua is going to win.
“I’m more for Joshua because he’s a real heavyweight. He’s not a cruiserweight.
“There’s a big difference. I say who is preparing well, will win. Now too, I think Tyson Fury is going to win. But who’s preparing well, he’s going to win.”
Source: Boxing - thesun.co.uk
