The Hauser Report: Beterbiev-Meng Fight in China in Doubt

On December 30, Longjoy Sports (a Chinese promotional company) won a purse bid for Artur Beterbiev’s mandatory IBF title defense against Meng Fanlong with a purse bid of $1,900,000, easily topping the $1,315,000 bid by Top Rank (Beterbiev’s promoter). Dino Duva, who submitted the purse bid on behalf of Longjoy, says that the company plans to stage the bout in China in March or April.

But the fight might not happen as planned.

Beterbiev, who was born in Russia and lives in Montreal, has compiled a 15-0 record in six years as a pro with all of his wins coming by knockout. His most impressive performance to date was a tenth-round stoppage of Oleksandr Gvozdyk on October 18 to unify the WBC and IBF 175-pound titles.

Meng is a former Chinese Olympian who has compiled a 16-0 (10 KOs) record. Nothing on his resume suggests that he would be competitive against Beterbiev, who is widely regarded as the best light-heavyweight in the world.

Now we come to the complicated part.

Beterbiev is a devout Muslim who is said to adhere conscientiously to the tenets of his faith.

China is currently engaged in what the New York Times recently described as “an aggressive campaign to remold Muslim minorities into an army of workers for factories and other big employers.” The campaign, according to the Times, includes “social re-engineering alongside indoctrination camps which have held one million or more Uighurs and Kazakhs to convert them into obedient workers, loyal to employers and the ruling Communist Party.”

The BBC has likened these camps to high-security prisons.

Additionally, the Chinese government has been engaged in an increasingly violent crackdown against pro-democracy demonstrators in Hong Kong and retaliated economically against the National Basketball Association when Houston Rockets general manager Daryl Morey posted an image on Twitter that read, “Fight for freedom, stand with Hong Kong.”

It’s uncertain at present how the Beterbiev-Meng situation will unfold. The Chinese government might deny Beterbiev entry into the country. He might refuse to go to China, even if that means relinquishing his IBF belt. Or he might go to China and use the platform to condemn Chinese aggression against its Muslim minority.

As an initial first step, Beterbiev might also explore the possibility of voiding the IBF purse bid on the grounds that it was technically flawed.

Top Rank has been supportive of Beterbiev to date. But the situation is made more problematic by the fact that Top Rank is scheduled to promote a fight between Jose Ramirez and Viktor Postol in China on February 1.

Could Top Rank win a new Beterbiev-Meng purse bid if the initial purse bid is voided? Will a country like Saudi Arabia or Qatar (either of which is likely be sympathetic to Beterbiev) get involved? At this point, there are more than a few unanswered questions. And high-stakes global politics is involved.

Early indications are that Beterbiev will stand by his religious principles and not go quietly into the night.

Thomas Hauser’s email address is thomashauserwriter@gmail.com. His most recent book – A Dangerous Journey: Another Year Inside Boxing  – was published by the University of Arkansas Press. In 2004, the Boxing Writers Association of America honored Hauser with the Nat Fleischer Award for career excellence in boxing journalism. On June 14, 2020, he will be inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

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