Since his dual fights with WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, the name Artur Beterbiev has gained a certain notoriety. But it wasn’t always like that. Despite holding titles in multiple promotions, Beterbiev wasn’t simply a name known to the laymen or even a lot of combat sports enthusiasts. And Joe Rogan wasn’t just going to sit and let that pass.
Every time Rogan spots a talent that not a lot of people are talking about, he finds a way to put the spotlight on them. Sure, he’s a wordsmith as many would like him to be, but it’s the thought that matters, and it’s what Beterbiev will count!
The Russian-Canadian powerhouse boasts an unblemished record of 21 wins, with a staggering 20 coming by way of knockout, giving him a knockout rate of over 95%. At 40 years old, Beterbiev has held the WBA, WBC, IBF, and WBO light heavyweight titles, which had cemented his legacy as the undisputed champion in his division.
He has been so dominant that until his first fight against Dmitry Bivol in October 2024, none of Beterbiev’s fights had gone the distance. It should be noted that he made his debut in 2013, so it took 11 years of world-class pugilists trying their hardest to push him to the limit to finally succeed.
And even then, Beterbiev would break Bivol’s spirit in the October fight with sheer power punching and high pressing to come back from behind and secure an unlikely win.
Rogan of course, wished this for Beterbiev in an Instagram post in January 2024, after his win over Callum Smith. “This man drags people to hell like no other.”, he had said.
“Artur Beterbiev goes 20-0 with 20 knockouts and becomes the first guy to floor Callum Smith. I hope he gets the super fights he deserves before he retires, and I hope people appreciate how extraordinarily terrifying his style and skills are.”, the UFC commentator had added.
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This wouldn’t be the last time Rogan would sing Beterbiev’s praises either. The UFC commentator actually makes it a point to talk about the Russian-Canadian boxer to any guest who will listen.
Rogan calls Beterbiev ‘crazy specimen’
In one of his podcast episodes from last month, Rogan would regail comedian Bryan Callen with tales of a world-class boxer who had the luxury of training with Beterbiev.
Although Young Jamie never quite pulled up a video, Rogan claims there was footage somewhere on the internet of an elite pugilist who didn’t seem to rate the former WBA, WBC, WBO, and IBF light heavyweight champion. Elaborating further on the story, Rogan said, “His coach said to him, ‘Just do your best.’ He’s like, ‘Do my best? What the hell are you talking about? I’m going to f*ck this dude up.”
If this were a film, a video of the session would be played on your screens with the narrator going, “He didn’t f him up”
Rohgan described what happened next and added, “And he goes in, and (later says), the first time [Beterbiev] hit me, it was like nothing I’d ever experienced in my life. It was almost like my body left me.”
Now, Rogan is a known exaggerator, but given evidence of Beterbiev’s power, that description of events does sound rather accurate.
The UFC commentator would then go on to praise the boxer’s October 2024 performance against Bivol and hail his endurance in the fight.
“Beterbiev is one of the craziest specimens because he’s almost 40 years old. He had this endurance fight with [Dmitry] Bivol, so it’s 12 rounds of super high pace, very endurance-heavy, and he was dominating in the last rounds. “, Rogan said.
Unfortunately, since then, Betervbiev has lost his first career fight against Bivol. In a close rematch, Bivol pulled off a judges’ decision win, interestingly, with the exact same scorecard (116-112, 115-113, 114-114) as their first fight.
