By Brian Webber: Tim Bradley prefers WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol over unified 175-pound champion Artur Beterbiev if the two fight later this year.

Bradley loves the boxing skills of Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs), especially after seeing what he did to Canelo Alvarez with his one-sided win over the Mexican star on May 7.

It remains unclear if Beterbiev will next fight Bivol. Their promoter Bob Arum said on Friday that he was already planning to face Artur against WBO No. 1 contender Anthony Yarde in October in London.

Arum wants this fight because it will bring money to England. The World Boxing Organization did not order the fight, but Arum still likes the match because of the revenue.

American boxing fans won’t notice the Beterbiev vs. Yarde match, but the Brits will love it despite it being a much less exciting match than Beterbiev-Bivol.

Beterbiev’s second-round knockout victory over WBO champion Joe Smith Jr. last Saturday night at New York’s Madison Square Garden came as no surprise to Bradley.

He felt that Artur’s superior amateur pedigree would be too much for Smith, who is a blue-collar fighter who has been learning on the job since turning pro in 2009.

Bivol can send Beterbiev

“Yeah, I would because he’s active,” Tim Bradley told Fighthype of picking Dmitry Bivol to defeat Artur Beterbiev. “Bivol has a lot of toughness going for him, especially when he fought Canelo.

“I don’t think he can stay on the ropes, and that’s the biggest problem Bivol has against this guy. You come up against the ropes against a powerful puncher like this; it will destroy you.

“That’s the only problem I see. If he [Bivol] keeps the fight in the center of the ring, uses his legs and frustrates Beterbiev, grabs him when he comes in, and controls him on the outside and isolates him and makes him mount that high guard and take advantage of it like Canelo, he can beat him .

“It’s a 50-50 fight. You have the punch [Beterbiev] against the boxer-puncher [Bivol]. It is a beautiful alliance of style. Grit versus grit, but right now I slightly prefer Bivol,” Bradley said.

“Bivol would be a very difficult match [for Beterbiev]. I haven’t watched the movie, but I can tell you this. The leader of Bivol and I know Beterbiev constantly uses this high guard.

“Yeah, he used little wrinkles and moves and stuff like that, but having that strong foundation and that amateur pedigree, and also having educated jab and footwork, inside and outside footwork, which can unbalance Beterbiev.

“Who would I prefer from the start [between Bivol and Beterbiev]. I would prefer the boxer [Bivol]. I look at history. When you look at history, when two powerful punchers go against each other, whoever is more technical is going to win the match,” Bradley said.

Smith lost his cool

“I was not surprised. I thought it would do a few laps, but I wasn’t surprised with the results. Pedigree, man. It’s very important in the sport of boxing, especially when you learn the trade the right way,” Bradley said when asked if he was surprised by Artur Beterbiev’s early knockout over Joe Smith. Jr.

“At the start of the round, he was able to buzz Beterbiev. I saw her legs look a little [wobbley]. I saw a little tremor for a split second, but it woke him up.

“He had different techniques,” Bradley said of Beterbiev. “You could see the way he trains; it’s very different. Beterbiev is extremely strong, but I thought the tactics he uses inside the ring would be much better than Joe Smith’s.

“Yes, Joe Smith has to keep his distance. He did, but as soon as he was cracked, his discipline was going to be key for him. He lost his damn face. It comes back. It’s the temper he has.

“’Damn, you hit me. Alright, I’ll hit you harder.’ I was talking to a guy a minute ago; when you swing with power, you automatically reduce the distance. Mid-range is not where you want to be with Beterbiev.

“You have to keep the distance outside. You either have to go all the way, where you fix it, tie it up, stop it, and keep it from working inside, or you want to go all the way.

Beterbiev too powerful for Smith

“Probably a little more stamina,” Bradley said when asked if he expected Smith Jr to have more stamina to fight Beterbiev better.

“Once that one hit, you don’t know how you’re going to react once you get hit by that hit. Joe Smith has been in there with punchers, but he’s never been in there with a 17 puncher with 17 knockouts, now 18 and 18 knockouts.

“It’s a different kind of power. It’s deaf power, and it’s like being hit with a hammer. I’ve been in the ring with a puncher of this nature in [Ruslan] Providnikov, but Provodnikov, I don’t think, had the technical skills of a Beterbiev.

“I knew the right hand was going to be money because when you take the jab away, and you learn that from an amateur. Smith didn’t have that amateur pedigree.

“It stings, yes. He follows the game plan, but as soon as he closes the distance on him with some movement and Beterbiev goes in that direction and over [with a right hand]. I knew the right hand was going to pull the jab back immediately.

“As soon as he landed that right hand, the whole fight changed because Joe Smith’s game plan went out the window,” Bradley said of Beterbiev. “He wanted some to come back.

“It’s not going to exceed six laps. In the breakdown, I said it wasn’t going to go past six rounds, and I’m going to favor Beterbiev. Smith was unable to land his right hand, which is his bread and butter punch,” Bradley said.