Artur Beterbiev was not happy with the news about Dmitry Bivol’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, commenting that he disagreed with the decision of their previous fight on October 12th. Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) looked annoyed, saying Hearn always has something he “disagrees with.”
Hearn suffered a seizure after three-belt unified welterweight champion Beterbiev defeated his fighter, WBA champion Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs), spoiling his plans for a lucrative rematch with Canelo Alvarez. What chances will Bivol have if he loses again and wins another fight against Beterbiev?
He didn’t want to fight when he had a hard time last time and ran away when he got hot. While some fans think Bivol should have won the first fight with Beterbiev, they clearly formed their opinion after the first five rounds as his white flag of submission was up by the sixth round. He had no fight in him, he tucked his tail and ran away from sixth. Hearn helped muddy the waters by constantly complaining about the decision, but Bivol clearly lost.
I know there was a lot of money on the line if Bivol won because she would be fighting Canelo. If Bivol had won, do you honestly believe that Beterbiev would have won the rematch immediately?
Not a chance on Earth. It would be Canelo vs. Bivol 2. As for Beterbiev, he would have to get back into a title shot by fighting the winner of the David Benavidez vs. David Morrell fight, as he is not as well connected as Bivol.
Will Beterbiev spoil things?
Hearn hoped that Bivol could take Beterbiev’s three titles and use the undisputed 175lb championship as bait to get Canelo to move and face him. Beterbiev destroyed everything with a relentless attack on the timid Bivol boxer, chasing him around the ring for the last six rounds to win a 12-round majority decision of 115-113, 116-112 and 114-114.
I agreed with the 8-4 score for Beterbiev, but it was amusing, if not predictable, that Hearn went on a rampage afterwards, complaining that Bivol deserved the win. It’s not. The only way Bivol could win is if the judges stop scoring the fight after six rounds. If this were six rounds, Bivol would easily win.
Hearn’s fighter, Bivol, gets another shot against Beterbiev in their rematch on February 22nd in Riyadh. If Bivol can’t win this fight, it’s a waste of time to have a trilogy. If Bivol wins, he will have the titles to entice Canelo. If that fight doesn’t happen, there’s always a trilogy with Beterbiev that Bivol can rely on.
If he loses on points, Hearn will probably scream bloody murder and complain that Bivol deserved to win again.
It will be interesting to see if Turki Al-Sheikh sympathizes with Hearn’s complaints and gives Buffalo another undeserved fight instead of giving the winner of David Beterbiev vs. David Morrell a chance.
“Yes, he did a good job. We can say the hardest fight,” said Artur Beterbiev for BoxNation when asked if Dmitry Bivol is the most difficult fight in his career so far. “Eddie Hearn always disagrees with something,” Beterbiev said, reacting to the news that Bivolo’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, disagreed with the decision from their previous fight on October 12. “There is always something.
“It’s an honor to be the main event on this card. Great fight, they are. It was a good experience. Unbelievably, they did a good job for boxing,” Beterbiev said of the Saudis.
“It was a good fight; it was good for boxing fans,” said Bivol for BoxNation about his previous fight against Beterbiev. “It wasn’t the best fight I had and it was a good lesson for me. I learned a lot from this fight and I need to improve. I like to fight in Riyadh because they do nice events, great events. Every fighter wants that and I’m looking forward to my return.
“Of course, every camp is different, and we made some changes that I will talk about after the fight. I am glad to have this opportunity,” said Bivol.
Revenge of the mind… 💭
🎥 @bivol_d | #BeterbievBivol2 | #RiyadhSeason | February 22, live on DAZN | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/hPwhSjeEJd
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 17, 2025
