Beterbiev vs Deines March 20 on ESPN

Artur Beterbiev’s fight with Adam Deines has been officially rescheduled, as Beterbiev will defend the WBC and IBF light heavyweight titles on Tuesday March 20 in what will be Beterbiev’s first pro fight in Russia.

Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KO) was originally supposed to defend against an IBF mandatory challenger in Meng Fanlong, but Fanlong’s visa issues allowed Deines (19-1-1, 10 KO) to step in. Deines, 29, actually lost the IBF eliminator to Meng back in June 2019.

But the fight was repeatedly postponed, and the last time came in mid-September, when Beterbiev suffered a broken rib in training camp. He was hoping to reschedule for December, but that was pushed to January, and now here we are.