Dmitry Bivol vs Malik Zinad Prediction: The Russian will win the sparring match

The mega-fight between Bivol and Beterbiev was supposed to take place on 1 June, but Artur was injured during training and will be replaced by boxer Malik Zinad.

Dmitry Bivol is the reigning world champion in two of the four most prestigious versions, who has not suffered a single defeat in his career, although he has faced the best - and the only one who can compete with him is Artur Beterbiev, but not Malik Zinad.

In his last fight, Bivol destroyed Lyndon Arthur, who, like Zinad, promised to create a sensation. That fight didn't turn out to be competitive, as Dmitry was closing in, throwing hard jabs and smashing his opponent from all angles and floors, probably enjoying himself.

However, all the previous fights with Bivol's participation can't be called highly competitive either.

Malik Zinad has no losses in his career either, but his opposition was of a different level, and we don't know any of the names of his past opponents. In his last fight (which was just a month ago, by the way) he faced Jerome Pampellone and defeated him by majority decision.

The boxers are simply at different skill levels, and Zinad's only chance is to wait for Bivol to set his jaw and hit it powerfully. It's worth taking into account that the Libyan doesn't have a very crushing punch, and Dmitry has faced much harder hitters in his career. Everyone understands the likelihood of that.

But the Russian probably won't force things. He'll work in sparring mode, take all the rounds, and whether he finishes the fight early depends on Zinad, as far as he can tolerate the accumulated damage.