Beterbiev vs. Bivol October 12 undercard shaping up

THE last time Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol were ready to settle their battle for 175-pound supremacy, a thrilling five-versus-five was in place to prop up the stellar main event.

Following Beterbiev’s unexpected and unfortunate injury pullout, the new date is October 12. A different kind of supporting cast has been assembled, lauded in many quarters upon its announcement. Let’s take a look at who’s on it.

Shakur Stevenson vs. Joe Cordina

Having ditched Top Rank and finally signed on the dotted line with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom, big things are now expected of Shakur Stevenson. Should he be successful, Shakur is expected to box WBC mandatory challenger William Zepeda and then turn his attention to a megafight with generational rival Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis.

Welshman Joe Cordina will hope to upset those plans. He will know that this latest assignment is a tall order, especially given his mental and physical state: suffering a first career defeat and losing his IBF super-featherweight title in the process. Who knows where Cordina, now trained by Ben Davison and moving up in weight, is at?

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Jai Opetaia vs. Jack Massey

Having proved his toughness across 24 gruelling rounds with Mairis Briedis, Aussie champ Jai Opetaia is back in with UK opposition. Jack Massey is unlikely to fold as swiftly as Jordan Thompson or Ellis Zorro did. Opetaia is a spiteful finisher who doesn’t suffer fools in or out of the ring. European cruiserweight champion Massey is certainly no fool.

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Fabio Wardley vs. Frazer Clarke 2

This heavyweight pair engaged in a domestic dust-up for the ages in March. Having come from differing ends of the experience spectrum, white-collar Wardley and Olympic pedigree Clarke both needed the same thing to prevail: guts and heart.

After 12 rounds, they were inseparable. Clarke was dropped and docked a point for low-blow infringements. Wardley’s nose was smashed and bleeding profusely. Yet the Ipswich man managed to keep going despite appearing out on his feet at times. The rematch, again for Wardley’s British heavyweight title, will be one to watch.

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Chris Eubank Jr vs. Kamil Szeremeta

After being dangled the lucrative Canelo carrot, before Edgar Berlanga grabbed the lottery ticket from under his nose, any opponent for Chris Eubank Jr would’ve appeared a little deflating. 

Poland’s Szeremeta became relevant in late 2020 as part of the Gennadiy Golovkin post-Canelo rebuilding process. Jaime Munguia beat him shortly after and Eubank should comfortably repeat the trick here.

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Skye Nicolson vs. Raven Chapman

While Australia’s Nicolson won’t be breaking any eggs, her style is smooth, easy on the eye and has earned her the WBC featherweight title. She now defends that belt against promotional rival Raven Chapman as women finally arrive in the Kingdom.

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Ben Whittaker vs. Liam Cameron

Ben Whittaker polarises opinion with his antics, but the West Midlands light-heavyweight can fight. ‘The Surgeon’ could not completely dissect press conference doorstepper Ezra Arenyeka in his last outing, but the win was one-sided.

Absent from the ring for a five-year period (2018-2023), at his best, Liam Cameron was a dependable domestic operator who hit rock bottom after failing a drug test.

Cameron’s ring return is a boxing success story and if Whittaker can put any kind of dent in the durable Sheffield man, who gave Lyndon Arthur a rough 10 rounds recently, then it would represent a statement of sorts.