EXCLUSIVE
I sparred Artur Beterbiev for a full month – the KO king is a ‘machine’ and punches harder than heavyweights
Artur Beterbiev stands today as arguably the most intimidating man in boxing.
The Russian-Candian light-heavyweight king is 20-0 (20 KOs) - making him the only current world champion with a 100 per cent KO ratio.
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Beterbiev hasn't built this record against limited fighters either, stopping, among others, Oleksandr Gvozdyk, Joe Smith Jr, Anthony Yarde and most recently Callum Smith, all while unifying the WBC, IBF and WBO belts.
In 2022, when preparing for the Smith Jr bout, the champion recruited British contender Dan Azeez to join his training camp for a full month's sparring.
Azeez flew to Toronto for the experience, which was unlike anything else he has felt in boxing.
"This guy, he's a machine," Azeez recalled to marvelbet369.com ahead of his fight with Joshua Buatsi. "That's all I can say.
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"He hits incredibly hard, he's absolutely fit, good boxing IQ, and it was incredible to just watch how he prepares, how meticulous he prepared for a specific fighter.
"I was there watching how probably the best light-heavyweight in the world trains and getting a first-hand insight, so that was an experience that you can't buy.
"As the weeks went on I got more and more used to it and acclimatised to how he was.
"It was definitely an eye-opener. I know the levels and it let me know what I've got to do and where I've got to get to."
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Azeez has come on leaps and bounds since his time sparring Beterbiev, winning British, Commonwealth and European light-heavyweight titles.
The 34-year-old is now finalising his preparations for a crunch clash with Buatsi on Saturday night, which is live on talkSPORT where the winner becomes mandatory for Dmitry Bivol's WBA light-heavyweight world title.
As Bivol holds the only other belt currently not in Beterbiev's possession, he too is targeting that fight - and it's known to be in talks to potentially take place as an undisputed showdown on June 1 in Saudi Arabia.
Asked if he would expect Beterbiev to emerge victorious, Azeez said: "Definitely, but I wouldn't be surprised as Bivol maybe nicked a win.
"They're both equally as good, but the power stands out for Beterbiev.
"Trust me, three minutes in the ring with him is like half an hour. And then your one minute rest is like ten seconds, I swear to you.
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"I've had so many spars and never in my life - I've sparred heavyweights like Daniel Dubois - but them punches, it's never been where I've thought, 'Yeah, forget this.'
"It was a gut check as well, I was there for a whole month. I was in that camp when people would just have one spar and went home. And they were being paid and everything.
"It was definitely a good experience. He's definitely the hardest hitter I've sparred."
Buatsi vs Azeez is live on talkSPORT on Saturday February 3. The action begins on talkSPORT 2 from 7PM before switching to talkSPORT at 9PM for the main event
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