The light heavyweight title fight is scheduled for Saturday

Saturday marks the most anticipated light heavyweight showdown for years will take place when Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol meet for the undisputed 175-pound championship.

Probably.

We think.

Skepticism about the realization of a Beterbiev-Bivol fight – which must be clear Is There is merit to the fact that something actually happened after both fighters took part in a predictably dull press conference on Thursday. The two top light heavyweights who were the two top light heavyweights Yearshas had several stops and starts, most recently a scheduled June date being canceled after Beterbiev suffered a knee injury.

For now – fingers crossed – it’s starting.

“I want a good fight,” Beterbiev said. “I’m preparing for a good fight.

Bivol said: “I’m just different. That’s why it’s such an interesting fight.”

Polite trash talk aside, this isn't just a good fight. On paper it is one Great battle. “The best fight in boxing,” boasted Bivol’s promoter Eddie Hearn. Beterbiev (20-0) is a destroyer, the only champion who has eliminated every opponent. Last January, Beterbiev faced Callum Smith, a younger, bigger former super middleweight titleholder who had overwhelmed his first two opponents at 175 pounds. After seven penalties, Smith's corner threw in the towel.

Bivol (23-0) is more boxer than puncher, a fluid, hard-hitting fighter who prefers to keep his opponents at a distance. If Beterbiev has the more appealing style, Bivol wins on the resume. In 2022 Bivol defeated Canelo Alvarez– the first fighter to defeat Canelo in nearly a decade. Months later, Bivol handed Gilberto Ramírez his first career defeat. Bivol can have some crazy performances – lackluster decisions against Craig Richards and Lyndon Arthur, for example – but he's at his best when the lights are brightest.

And these two have history. They were amateur teammates in Russia. As Beterbiev remembers, sparring partners were “a long time ago.” Beterbiev became a two-time Olympian, winning gold medals at European and world competitions. Bivol, who was a few years behind him, collected plenty of international hardware himself. Both said the fight was not personal. Neither seems to particularly like the other either.

“I don’t think this one needs to be sold to fight fans,” Hearn said. “You know the educated fight fans, the casual fight fans, it doesn’t matter. The whole world needs to know how great this fight is.”

They will… won't they? What worries Beterbiev-Bivol is that it is happening a few years too late. The two have been defending champions since 2017 and are the only champions at 175 pounds since 2022, when Beterbiev quickly defeated Joe Smith Jr. to claim his third belt. Money was an obstacle. As competent as both are, they neither have the ticket-buying fan base nor the pay-per-view distribution power to justify the exorbitant amount of money spent on this event. The presence of Turki Alalshikh, the Saudi official who has spent a lot of money on such events, is the only reason this fight is taking place.

And it's great that it is Is Happening. But there are questions. Mainly about Beterbiev, whose physical problems have been well documented in recent years. Four of his last six fights have been delayed due to injury. Last May, 39-year-old Beterbiev underwent surgery to repair a torn meniscus. He has insisted all week that he is healthy. “There is no problem,” said his coach Marc Ramsay. But with a recovery time of just over five months, it's fair to wonder whether this could be the case.

“Injuries are part of sport in my opinion,” Beterbiev said. “Injuries always happen in sports, in any sport. It’s happening.”

True, although they seem to happen to Beterbiev a lot. He had several procedures on his knees. Last year his fight with Callum Smith was delayed after Beterbiev required dental surgery to fix a bone infection in his jaw. At his open workout this week, Beterbiev did a few stretches, a few hand-eye coordination exercises… and not much else.

Physically, the 33-year-old Bivol has fewer questions. He has been active – Saturday's fight will be Bivol's third in the last ten months – and often fights better in bigger moments. He physically asserted himself against Álvarez and stunned Ramírez with superior footwork.

“Every time I think about my opponents, I get excited,” Bivol said. “One of them (Álvarez) is the face of boxing. It was exciting to fight this guy. Another (Ramírez) fought about 50 fights and never lost. So it makes me more excited, not nervous. And Arthur is a great champion. He has what I want. He has the belts. And it's not just about belts. When I look at his skills, I also want to test my skills against this great fighter.”

If boxing is guilty of anything, it is the over-retention of fights. Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao fought years past their prime. The same goes for Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. Gervonta Davis' fights against Vasyl Lomachenko and Shakur Stevenson are still on hold. Trying to squeeze out every nickel damaged the product.

Will Beterbiev–Bivol be different? It's all in a row. The two best light heavyweights, a chance to be crowned the first undisputed 175-pound champion since Roy Jones Jr. and the first ever in the four-belt era. It could be a great night of boxing. Or it could be something else.