Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol: Ariel Helwani explains why the spotlight might favour one fighter over another

It's safe to say that this month's undisputed world light heavyweight title fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol will be the biggest contest of either man's career.

Beterbiev heads into the bout, live on DAZN on Oct. 12 (excluding U.S. and Canada), holding the WBC, IBF, and WBO titles, while Bivol is the longstanding WBA champion who added the IBO belt to his collection when he defeated Lyndon Arthur late last year.

Now the men will square off in Saydi Arabia to decide ultimate supremacy of the division after both have been able to call themselves world champion for years. It's an exciting prospect that comes with a lot of pressure, as both fighters enter the bout undefeated and with much more than just their belts on the line.

Read more: Eddie Hearn outlines favourite for Beterbiev-Bivol clash

For combat sports journalist Ariel Helwani, the bright lights of the upcoming showdown may favour one fighter over another. While both men have been involved in massive bouts, Helwani believes Beterbiev's experience as a headliner puts him in good stead against his younger opponent.

"Beterbiev is used to being the man on the big stage," Helwani said on DAZN's Roundtable alongside Darren Barker, Joseph Parker and host Ade Oladipo. "He fights in Canada. He's selling out those shows. He's the headliner."

Helwani contrasted Beterbiev's experience as the main attraction on numerous cards to Bivol's tendency to often not fight at the top of the bill despite his status among the elite of the light heavyweight division.

"Bivol, sometimes, I think shies away from the big stage," he said, noting that Bivol was not the star of the show even in his successful title defence against Canelo Alvarez. "It didn't feel like the show was built around him. And let's be honest, he was a bit of a bit player against Canelo.

"So there's gonna be a lot of pressure come that fight week. Beterbiev is used to that pressure. He's used to the spotlight. I'm wondering how Bivol handles all of that."

When asked by Barker to expand on his reasoning that the May 2022 bout against Canelo shouldn't be taken in consideration for Bivol, Helwani explained that there was "no pressure on [Bivol] whatsoever" as the Mexican superstar was the main attraction on that day.

"That was all about Canelo," Helwani said. "The story of that fight was Canelo moving up [in weight class], and [Bivol] was a bit player. The story wasn't Canelo versus Bivol, it was Canelo trying to go up to 175 [pounds] and do the business there.

"Now, this is Bivol-Beterbiev. It's 50/50. There are hardcore Bivol fans and there are hardcore Beterbiev fans. And so I'm just curious how he deals with it.

"Now, I think it actually helps him that it's in Riyadh. It's a little bit different than being in front of 50,000 people or even 25,000 people in Montreal, where Beterbiev is beloved [and often fights], so I'm just curious how he rises to the occasion."

More Boxing 

• Boxing full schedule and calendar
• DAZN's upcoming Boxing shows
• Boxing rankings
• Boxing champions list in every division
• Fighter profiles and highlights
• How do weight classes work?
• What are the major boxing titles?
• How is boxing scored?