Artur Beterbiev retains belts and maintains perfect knockout record
In the ESPN main event, IBF and WBC World Light Heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (16-0, 16 KO’s) won by way of tenth round technical knockout. While a game foe, Adam Deines (19-2-1, 10 KO’s) simply could not match the Russian’s skillset or power.
The bout with Deines was the first for Beterbiev in a little over a year and a half. That extended stretch of inactivity was marked by a streak of snake-bitten luck. Well back in the first quarter of 2020, Beterbiev had a dustup scheduled to face IBF mandatory challenger Meng Fanlong. Unfortunately, this fight was nixed due to COVID-19 and travel issues. Later, the unified champion was set up to fight Deines, but that event was canceled when Beterbiev suffered a rib injury while training.
Once finally in the ring, the Russian wasted no time in displaying why he is commonly thought of as the best 175-pound fighter in the game. To make matters worse, Beterbiev was inspired by fighting in his native Russia. Many times, hometown fights can play against a fighter. Yet, fighting at home for the first time in his professional career appeared to invigorate the champion.
ONE-SIDED DOMINATION
The night started bad for Deines from the opening round. Both men came out and began the feeling process by judging speed and finding their range. Beterbiev’s sturdy jab went to work as he assumed the role of stalker. Deines attempted to crowd Beterbiev when he could and circled when not punching. In the closing seconds of the period, the champion bounced a glancing right hook off the top of Deines’ head. The punch dropped him down on all fours. To his credit, he rose without issue or any lingering effects.
Over the next two rounds, Beterbiev slowly picked up the pace and stalked with more purpose. Deines continued moving strategically without running. While he was on the move most of the time, the challenger frequently stopped to fire his offense. Each combatant sank a number of hurtful hooks into one another’s body in the third. Even though he most assuredly lost the round, Deines landed the most notable punches of the round. In the final thirty seconds, he pelted the champion in the face with a jab-straight combo that briefly turned his head into a Pez dispenser.
With the coming of the fourth, the writing began being scrawled on the wall. For the first three rounds, Deines’ used his movement to float around the inner circle of the ring. Now, he was drifting directly to the ropes. When he took his back off the straps of one side, he would immediately drift to more ropes on another or a corner.
Even worse, his offense was rapidly melting away like vanilla ice cream in a hot July sun. This manifested as Deines shelling-up to an irresponsible degree. The change in tactic allowed Beterbiev to curve pinpoint hooks around his elbows to land quality body shots. When focused on the head, the champ split his guard with straight rights and crunching double-fisted uppercuts.
The fight maintained this template for numerous rounds. Deines found his second wind and no longer appeared to be wilting quite so quickly. Also worth mentioning, while clearly in a naked retreat, Deines was periodically landing great shots. Every thirty or forty-five seconds he would snap or swivel the champion’s head around. The trouble was that not one of the eye-catching strikes got a meaningful reaction out of Beterbiev. He simply ate them like some Pringles and kept pushing forward like Schwarzenegger clad in a black leather jacket and shades.
The end finally came in the tenth round, when one too many sizzling left hooks connected with Deines’ jawbone. Once again, the challenger found himself belted down to all fours. Deines attempted to gather himself and he did make it back to his feet. Before the action could resume however, his corner leapt into action and waved the white flag of surrender.
By: Bakari Simpson
