“Not my enemy, not my friend” – Dmitry Bivol wants to “keep personal emotions out” against Artur Beterbiev.

Dmitry Bivol insists his highly anticipated joint title fight with Artur Beterbiev is “just business” and that his former national team-mate is “not my enemy and not my friend”.

Bivol (23-0) has been the WBA light heavyweight champion since 2017, while Beterbiev (20-0) holds the WBC, IBF and WBO belts and has a 100% knockout rate in his professional career.

The winner will be the first undisputed light heavyweight world champion since Roy Jones Jr. in 1999, but Bivol told TNT Sports that he is doing everything he can to keep emotions out of the ring.

“It’s just a business. I have nothing personal with him,” Bivol said.

“He is not my enemy, he is not my friend. He’s just a good fighter that I respect. What he does in the ring is good. I would like to check my skills. I want to win this great fight.”

He added: “I try to keep personal emotions out of the job…we’re professional fighters and when you’re really a professional you have to keep your emotions out of the business.”

The two fighters were teammates on the Russian national team as amateurs, albeit in different weight classes.

But 33-year-old Bivol, six years younger than Beterbiev, insists he has not learned any tips or tricks while training with his decorated compatriot.

“I didn’t copy him at all because they’re different styles,” Bivol said.

“I watched him get along with the other guys. I watched and learned what it could be like, but I didn’t use it or try it.”

Neither Beterbiev nor Bivol have shown any interest in sparking a verbal back-and-forth in the lead-up to their showdown.

“I respect him because, first of all, we have a similar spirit,” Bivol said.

“All fighters, all athletes have one thing in common: we want to achieve something. I know he works hard, just like I work hard.

“He will fight me in the ring and those things deserve respect. It’s just a business.”

According to the Russian, Joshua’s loss was a prime example of why emotions should be taken out of the ring.

“I was a little surprised, but that’s why we love boxing, because it can be an unexpected outcome,” Bivol said.

“Joshua wasn’t ready from the first round. I didn’t watch the whole fight but I saw some snippets and he made a mistake in the last part when he got knocked out.

“The mistake was that you can’t strike from a distance with a single uppercut.

“That’s why we should always be focused. I think Joshua had a lot of emotions at the time (he thought) that he could just finish him off. He forgot some basic rules.

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