Artur Beterbiev

Artur Beterbiev is a Russian-Canadian professional boxer who has held the title for light-heavyweight champion in the International Boxing Federation (IBF), the World Boxing Council (WBC), and the World Boxing Organization (WBO). Beterbiev has held at least one belt since 2017, when he defeated Enrico Koelling to win the IBF title. His professional record in January 2024 was 20-0 with twenty knockouts.

Artur Beterbiev.

Although born in Khasavyurt, Dagestan, and being of Chechen descent, Beterbiev has lived in Montreal, Canada, since he moved there in 2013 and is a Canadian citizen with a Canadian passport, Canadian residency, and a boxing license from Canada. Further, his children were born in Canada. After the WBC, IBF, and WBO announced they would not certify fights involving boxers from Russia or Belarus, Beterbiev has begun fighting as a Canadian and out of Montreal to maintain his titles. The majority of Beterbiev's professional boxing career has been fought in Canada and the United States.

Born Artur Asilbekovich Beterbiev, Artur is of Chechen descent and was born in the city of Khasavyurt in the republic of Dagestan, Russia. Beterbiev's hometown is known for its wrestling pedigree, having produced numerous Olympic qualifiers in the sport, and Beterbiev did wrestle for a time before he was drawn to boxing. He has credited his four brothers with bringing him to a boxing gym to keep him off of the streets, as Dagestan is noted for organized crime, where kidnapping and violence are known to flourish. Artur has stated that, when he was young, he worked at a local gas station where he earned a negligible wage and was drawn to street-fighting to earn money. His brothers directed his aggression and natural talent to a boxing gym.

In 1991, when Beterbiev was only six, the Soviet Union broke up, which complicated life for those living in former Soviet Union countries. This was further made fraught during the two Chechen wars for independence, which claimed countless thousands of lives and saw the Beterbiev household swell to thirty members at one point as they attempted to shelter refugees. The large family struggled, which only worsened when, in 2001, Beterbiev's father died in a car accident. His father had been the only financial income for the family, and following his death, Artur's brothers worked to financially support the family and Artur during his junior and amateur career.

Artur stormed into his amateur career, taking only six months to win his first local junior championship and begin an upward trajectory. By 2007, Beterbiev won silver at the 2007 World Championships. He also won the 2006 and 2010 European Championships. In 2008, he won the World Cup, and in 2009, he reached what some have argued is the top of Beterbiev's amateur career—winning the gold medal at the World Championships in Milan, Italy. In 2010, when he won his second European Championship, Beterbiev was named the International Boxing Association's best amateur boxer of the world.

Artur Beterbiev during an Olympic fight.

Artur's amateur career saw him partake in over one hundred fights, with Beterbiev stating that he stopped counting his fights once they passed one hundred. During those bouts, he faced and earned victories over Sergey Kovalev (who was previously a light heavyweight champion with the IBF, WBO, and WBA), Michael Hunter, Jr., Abbos Atoev, and Evgeny Makarenko, which furthered Beterbiev's amateur reputation. His ultimate goal of his amateur career, however, was becoming an Olympic champion. Qualifying for both the Beijing 2008 Olympics and London 2012 Olympics, that ultimate amateur goal remained of Beterbiev's reach.

Entering his professional career, Beterbiev moved to Montreal, Canada, to box out of that city and gain access to the North American boxing circuit. He brought with him a reputation for exceptional punching power, having won many of his amateur fights (and later his professional fights) by knockout or stoppage. In Montreal, Beterbiev signed with international boxing promoter Groupe Yvon Michel (GYM) and began working with his coach Marc Ramsay, previously a trainer for the Canadian amateur boxing team from 2001 to 2004.

Beterbiev lands a blow during his match against Travoris Cloud.

Incidentally, Beterbiev would make his pro-debut at the famous Bell Centre in Montreal on June 8, 2013. Beterbiev won the fight after a technical knockout against Christian Cruz, and Artur would go on to win his next four professional fights, leading him to a September 27, 2014, Light Heavyweight championship fight against IBF world champion Travoris Cloud. From the beginning of the fight, Beterbiev imposed his will through his punching power, dropping Cloud three times in the first round, the first time Cloud had ever been dropped in his career. The fight ended in the second round when, following a devastating combination that included multiple hard shots to the head, Cloud was knocked out and unable to return before the referee's count, earning Beterbiev his first professional title.

Beterbiev watches as Gabriel Campillo goes down.

Following this win, Beterbiev continued a climb toward the top of his division. His punching power saw his first eight bouts fail to last beyond the fourth round, with Beterbiev earning stoppage wins each time. On his first major US TV network fight, Beterbiev dispatched previously undefeated Jeff Page Jr. in the second round and won the previously vacant IBF North American and WBO-NABO light-heavyweight titles. Following this win, Beterbiev fought Gabriel Campillo, a former WBA light-heavyweight world champion, at the Pepsi Coliseum in Quebec City for the number two spot in the IBF world rankings. Beterbiev dropped Campillo late in the first, before landing a straight uppercut in the fourth round that would leave Campillo knocked out.

Beterbiev lands a punch on Ezequiel Maderna

On June 12, 2015, Beterbiev took on veteran boxer Alexander Johnson. The fight lasted seven rounds, with Beterbiev using his impressive punching power to knock Johnson down twice in the fifth round and a third time in the seventh round before he finished the fight in the seventh round. With the win, Beterbiev was able to add the previously vacant WBO International light-heavyweight title along with the four other titles he had previously earned. Beterbiev then took time off for a shoulder injury before returning to the Bell Centre on June 4, 2016, to face Ezequiel Maderna, whom he would defeat by stoppage in the fourth round. Beterbiev furthered his record with a defeat of Isidro Prieto (who had only previously lost in a decision), which began with a hard right hand to Prieto's hand, which dropped him for the first time in Prieto's career. Beterbiev followed with a barrage of punches before the referee stopped the fight.

Beterbiev entered his twelfth professional fight in November 2017 against Enrico Koelling. The fight lasted twelve rounds, with Beterbieve dominating the German boxer for all twelve before the fight was stopped in the twelfth round. With the win, Beterbiev won the IBF light heavyweight title, which had previously been vacated by Andre Ward. He also preserved his knockout streak with the twelfth-round fight stoppage and kept his undefeated record. In his next fight, Beterbiev was partially exposed by Callum Johson, who landed some heavy hits in the second round, but Beterbiev was able to drop Johnson in the fourth round and maintained his perfect record and his title.

Beterbiev lands a punch through Kalajdzic's defense.

Following these fights came one of Beterbiev's more remarkable fights as he took on Radivoje "Hot Rod" Kalajdzic in his second IBF light heavyweight world title defense. The fight saw Beterbiev knock down Kalajdzic at the end of the third round before they traded haymakers in the fourth. Coming out in the fifth round, Beterbiev pinned Kalajdzic to the ropes and unloaded on his head and body before the referee stepped in to end the fight. Following the Kalajdzic fight, Beterbiev would fight to unify his titles against Oleksandr Gvozdyk. The fight was close, competitive, and exciting, but Beterbiev steadily broke down Gvozdyk toward the tenth round. In the tenth round, Beterbiev scored three knockdowns for a technical knockout victory, keeping Beterbiev's knockout record alive.

Artur Beterbiev followed with a title defense against Adam Deines. The fight would see Beterbiev take ten rounds to defeat Deines despite the odds suggesting it would be a short fight. Deines was dropped once in the first round and once in the tenth, when a short left hook sent Deines to his gloves and knees. Despite beating the count, Deines's trainer threw in the towel to stop the fight, leading Beterbiev to keep his knockout and undefeated streaks alive. His record was once more at risk in his next fight, against Marcus Browne, who cut Beterbiev in the beginning of the fifth. The cut was bad enough that the referee told him he may only be allowed one more round, but Beterbiev took over the fight and knocked Browne down twice in the ninth to earn the knockout.

Beterbiev survives a terrible cut to defeat Marcus Browne.

Artur Beterbiev would win his third light-heavyweight title after defeating Joe Smith Jr. The fight was a main event and billed as a can't-miss fight. Beterbiev scored three knockdowns of Smith before he earned a second-round technical knockout (TKO) to capture the victory, maintain his undefeated/knockout streak, and unify the three titles.

Beterbiev with his three light-heavyweight title belts.

The next fight, against Anthony Yarde, was a title defense for Beterbiev's unified WBC, WBO, and IBF titles. The bout was a hard, bruising battle, and Yarde sought to set the pace of the fight. He was successful in many cases, capable of landing punishing hits on Beterbiev before Artur was able to catch Yarde with a left hook. Beterbiev pushed his advantage and blasted Yard with punches into the fifth round before he stumbled once more against Yarde's attempts to push the pace. In the eighth round, however, Beterbiev found his shots and stunned Yarde before putting him down. Seeing Yarde was badly hurt, the referee ended the fight, signaling another knockout for Beterbiev and another successful title defense.

Following his successful defense from Yarde, Beterbiev set up for his twentieth fight against Callum Smith. Beterbiev was set to defend his unified title once again. The fight was Smith's opportunity to become a two-weight world champion. However, the fight was partially delayed due to a bone infection in Beterbiev's jaw. Once determined that Beterbiev was healthy, the fight was scheduled to take place in Quebec City, Canada.

Beterbiev catches Callum Smith in the body.

The fight began with fireworks, as Smith was forced to walk through fire as Beterbiev trapped him against the ropes. However, Smith came back in the second round and sought to take advantage of Beterbiev's loss of momentum. Instead, Beterbiev recovered and began to take advantage of one of Smith's weaknesses—shots to his body. In Round 7, Smith was downed, tasting canvas for the first time in his career. Beterbiev did not let him off easy and continued to assault Smith before dropping him again in the same round. Smith beat the count, but Beterbiev showcased his knockout power to drop Smith again. After the third drop, Smith's trainer entered the ring to waive the fight and protect his end, earning Beterbiev his twentieth straight win and twentieth straight knockout. Following the defeat, Beterbiev set his sights on a fight with Dmitry Bivol and a chance to hold four light-heavyweight belts.

Beterbiev training in Montreal.

As noted above, Artur Beterbiev and his Russian-born wife, Medina, moved to Montreal (more specifically, the Town of Mount Royal), where the couple raised their four children, two of whom were born in Canada. He moved to the city to fight out of North America and to work with trainer Marc Ramsay, and though the two struggled to communicate with each other (Beterbiev did not initially speak English, and Ramsay did not speak Russian), they used an interpreter until Beterbiev learned English. Beterbiev is known to have a dry sense of humor and self-deprecating nature. Unlike many fighters, he does not indulge in the common vices of boxers (drinking, gambling, or chasing women) but is a devout Muslim and lives a simple life.