Unified WBC and IBF light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev defends his belts against 2012 U.S. Olympian Marcus Browne live from Bell Centre in Montreal, Canada on Friday December 17. The scheduled for twelve rounds world championship bout headlines the Top Rank boxing fight card. The date when the bout airs live in the UK and Australia is Saturday December 18.
Beterbiev (16-0, 16 KOs) is boxing’s only world champion with a 100 percent knockout rate. The Russian-born puncher, who moved to Montreal nearly a decade ago, finally gets the chance to defend his titles in his adopted hometown. He unified world titles in October 2019 with a 10th-round TKO over Oleksandr Gvozdyk and returned to action in March with a 10th-round stoppage over Adam Deines.
Browne (24-1, 16 KOs), who once held an interim world title, returned to the ring in April with a 10-round decision over Denis Grachev. He lost his interim belt in August 2019 via technical decision to Jean Pascal, which came off the heels of his career-best victory over Badou Jack. Browne, in his first bout outside of the United States, hopes to stun Beterbiev, who is upwards of an 11-1 betting favorite.
Check out below what the fighters and their coaches had to say at the press conference earlier today.
Beterbiev vs Browne press conference faceoff
Boxing fans can watch Artur Beterbiev vs Marcus Browne live stream on ESPN+ in the, Sky Sports in the UK and FITE TV in Australia and other countries.
Artur Beterbiev
“We are ready. We had a good training camp, and I am ready to show my best on Friday night.”
Marc Ramsay (Beterbiev’s Trainer)
“I’m very enthusiastic about this fight. It’s been a long time since we have been able to defend the titles in front of a crowd in Montreal, and we look forward to that. It’s been a great training camp. We’ve seen Marcus before, so we know his strengths and weaknesses, and you will see what happens on Friday night.”
Marcus Browne
“We trained hard for the fight. He’s a tough customer, but on Friday night, we are changing the narrative.”
“I wouldn’t be here if I didn’t believe, and come Friday night, you will see. I’m tired of talking. I want to fight.”
Derrick James (Browne’s Trainer)
“We’re very happy to be here. I found out when we got here that Marcus was a huge underdog, and we embrace that. This will be a historic fight. After Marcus wins the title, it will make me the only trainer in history to have three unified champions at the same time: Marcus Browne, Jermell Charlo, and Errol Spence.”
“I know who I am. I know Marcus will do what I ask him to do. When he came to me, he was already a good fighter and I just helped him build on that. I believe in myself, and I believe in Marcus.”
Artur Beterbiev vs Marcus Browne live stream, how to watch, start time
Get the full Beterbiev vs Browne fight card.
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