Artur Beterbiev’s frightening power saw him drop Oleksandr Usyk and beat the heavyweight world champion during famous amateur trilogy
Artur Beterbiev and Oleksandr Usyk stand today as two of professional boxing's most dominant unbeaten world champions.
Usyk, the former undisputed cruiserweight and undisputed heavyweight king, is 22-0 (14 KOs). Meanwhile Beterbiev, the unified light-heavyweight ruler, is 20-0 (20 KOs).
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Beterbiev is now 39-years-old while Usyk is 37, and they have both been competing at a high level since their teens.
While they haven't fought as professionals due to their weight difference, they did meet three times as amateurs to create a famous trilogy.
In 2007, when Beterbiev was 22 and Usyk just 20, they fought for the first time in a Russia vs Ukraine Amber Gloves tournament.
While there is sadly no footage of this bout, records confirm that Beterbiev emerged victorious on points - one of the most significant wins of his amateur career.
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The pair didn't meet again until 2011 in the Amateur World Championship quarter-finals.
Usyk began this fight on top and was boxing circles around Beterbiev, but the Russian then nailed him with a counter right hand that clearly hurt him.
In the final round, Usyk continued to win points on the amateur judging system by scoring the more clean punches, but was hammered by a huge body shot which forced him to take a knee.
Because knockdowns are not as important in amateur boxing as they are in the pro ranks, the Ukrainian still emerged victorious and progressed to the next round of the competition, which he ultimately won.
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The following year, they completed their trilogy at amateur boxing's grandest stage - the Olympics.
Beterbiev hurt Usyk with a body shot once more as they again met in a quarter-final.
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However, the Ukrainian was not knocked down this time and repeated his points victory before going on to win the gold medal.
Now, as pros, the pair are preparing for huge fights in consecutive months.
Usyk is set to face the man he conquered in May, Tyson Fury, in a rematch of their heavyweight showdown on December 21.
Artur Beterbiev performs stunning wrist exercise that has helped him achieve 100% KO rate ahead of Dmitry Bivol fight
The Ukrainian made a remarkable rise from the cruiserweight division, defying concerns over his size to rise up the rankings.
Usyk beat Derek Chisora and Chazz Witherspoon, before capturing the unified IBF, QBA and WBO titles from Anthony Joshua in 2021, and batting away his revenge push in their rematch a year later.
After defending the titles against Daniel Dubois, Usyk moved past the challenge of Fury in a thrilling contest to become the first undisputed king since 1999.
His former amateur rival Beterbiev will have a chance to record the same feat this weekend, when he takes on bitter rival Dmitry Bivol in a light-heavyweight clash.
The pair will finally meet for all the marbles after years of trying to make the clash, in a clash where the boxing world can barely separate a winner.
Beterbiev carries formidable power and has maintained his 100 per cent KO record, and he will be hoping to deliver his biggest yet to secure a 21st victory.
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He is coming to the twilight years of his career, but has regularly spoken about a rematch with Usyk.
And former world champion Mickey Bey believes Beterbiev could be the only man to stop Usyk if they meet in the professional ranks.
He said: “If you look in his history of his career you see him put Usyk down in the amateurs with a body shot.
“He just tapped him, like it wasn't even a hard shot. Imagine if that was the pros. He probably would have stopped Usyk if it was more rounds.
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“Usyk is hard to beat at that weight because even though he fights different, he's a mover and more of a slick boxer.
"He has got better endurance than the heavyweights."
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