Artur Beterbiev says he will be different in his rematch against Dmitri Bivol on February 22 in Riyadh. Undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) is expected to put Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) under constant pressure, forcing him to fight or run.
In the last half of their fight on October 12, Bivol suffered a lot of damage from Beterbiev’s constant blows. Although Bivol had his gloves up to block the blows, the impact of Beterbiev’s heavy punches went through his gloves and into his face, damaging him. Blocking doesn’t work when someone hits as hard as Beterbiev.
No more respect
Beterbiev now realizes that he fought the wrong way last time. In the first five rounds, he showed too much respect to Bivolo by not attacking him mercilessly. Artur deviated from his usual fighting style, allowing Buffalo to get unquestioned rounds that he would not have gotten if he had been under pressure the whole time.
“The opponent is the same, but it’s a new fight and I have to prepare differently. You want to do everything differently,” Artur Beterbiev told the George Groves Boxing Club YouTube channeldiscussing his rematch with Dmitri Bivol on February 22.
“My team and I will learn more about some details that I cannot tell you. I did enough to win, but I want to do a lot better,” Beterbiev said of his first fight against Bivol on Oct. 12. “I don’t know. We’ll see, but my focus is the same,” said Artur about the rematch.
“No, I don’t care about this,” Beterbiev said when asked if he was bothered by not getting a knockout in the fight with Bivola.
🥶 @ABeterbiev #BeterbievBivol2 | #RiyadhSeason | February 22, live on DAZN | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/ezvdJhax8O
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 16, 2025
The judges gave Beterbiev a 12-round majority decision in their previous fight on October 12 in Riyadh. There was a lot of bitterness from many of Bivolo’s fans and his promoter Eddie Hearn.
They felt that his boxing in the first half was enough to win, but they ignored that he gave up the fight after five rounds and ran like someone being chased by a dog. It’s interesting how fans form opinions based on what they see initially in the early rounds and then close their minds to what happens in the second half of the fights. It’s human nature.
Lazy people make quick judgments and then turn off their brains. Buffalo lost the fight in the second half because it failed to stand and fight. Fear gripped him and governed his ability to fight Beterbiev.
