Artur Beterbiev enters career-defining year hoping to finally secure undisputed status at light heavyweight

The unified Russian champion could see quite a few big-name opponents if he continues to win

For a 38-year-old unified champion with a perfect record, and knockout wins in all 19 of his professional bouts, Artur Beterbiev is as unassuming as anyone in all of boxing. 

That doesn't mean Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KOs) doesn't look the part as the scary destroyer he is. In fact, the native of Russia, who relocated to Montreal some 10 years ago, wouldn't miss a beat should he be cast for any B-level action movie as a diabolical foreign villain. 

But if you talk to Beterbiev, who speaks varying levels of four different languages (including much-improved English), it's easy to come away wondering whether this is the same man who is on the verge of entering such an important -- and, potentially, career-defining -- calendar year, which might finally catapult him to the kind of stardom that would equal his pound-for-pound ranked talent.