ARTUR BETERBIEV eats the souls of his poor opponents but insists he is not a monster.
The 39-year-old Russian light-heavyweight has an outrageously vicious 100 per cent knockout record from his 20 perfect wins.
Artur Beterbiev is the most destructive force in all of boxing[/caption]
The Chechen clubber has knocked out all 20 of his professional opponents[/caption]
Beterbiev is a soft-spoken and devout Muslim who doesn’t trash talk his opponents[/caption]
And the WBC, IBF and WBO king is hungry for the scalp of WBA boss and compatriot Dmitry Bivol on Saturday night to crown an undisputed emperor.
A decade on the Russian amateur team, two Olympic attempts that both ended in defeat to the gold winner, and a ruthless streak like no other, have made Beterbiev a machine.
But previous opponents – like battered Brits Callum Johnson, Anthony Yarde and Callum Smith – all spoke of something far more scary being in his arsenal.
When reminded of his fearsome reputation, he told SunSport: “I take their souls? Ha ha ha. I don’t know.
“I think they know better so we need to listen to them.
“They have felt it, so they know. I just do my work, I just follow my instructions.
“I am not a monster. My name is just Artur.”
Beterbiev’s appetite for boxing souls, belts and glory means a sensational clash with 23-0 Bivol is on the menu.
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But the Chechen clubber has a secret recipe for success that he reveals takes away all of his humility for the 12-round shift ahead of him and leaves him a starving savage.
“I stop eating three days before a fight,” he confirmed. “I get angrier and angrier and angrier.
“If I eat, it makes me kinder and I don’t want to be kind.
“I want to be hungry. Then I become a beast.”
If a fighter with a bigger ego or vocabulary was carrying around Beterbiev’s record, belts and terrifying aura, we would never hear the end of it.
But the devout Muslim does not waste a word on bragging about his own brutality or demeaning his prey.
When asked what total supremacy at 12st 7lbs would mean – especially over a decade-long understudy who has tried to usurp him as an amateur and pro – he retained a ruthless dignity.
Artur Beterbiec collides with countryman Dmitry Bivol in a historic undisputed light-heavyweight clash[/caption]
Beterbiev will defend his WBC, IBF and WBO light-heavyweight titles in the historic Saudi showdown[/caption]
He explained: “Bivol is a good fighter, he has good experience in amateur and professional.
“He is a good challenge for me. I don’t think about how scary he is
“Everyone is different, everyone has their own opinion.
“But I am not mad at anyone for saying I am just the big puncher. We will see.
“Becoming undisputed, for me, it will mean I am not a bad boxer.”
