Artur Beterbiev is 44 days away from his rematch against Dmitry Bivol on February 22 in Riyadh.
Undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) looks to close the chapter in his rivalry with Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) for the second time. He will do it in a way that fans and promoters won't be able to complain like they do 24/7.
No more mistakes
The event will be shown on February 22nd live on DAZN PPV. Many of the undercard fights are arguably better than the main event.
Beterbiev's 12-round majority decision over Bivol in their fight on October 12 last year was not decisive enough to satisfy fans and allow him to move on to bigger and better things against more popular fighters.
As such, Artur is stuck doing it again, but this time, he is expected to attack Bivol relentlessly, hunting him down for the finishing blow. Beterbiev's mistakes in his fight with Bivol made it closer than it should have been.
Bivol angered Beterbiev in the seventh round when he unleashed a four-punch combination. He was trying to do what he did against Artur Canelo Alvarez. That awakened Beterbiev's competitive spirit and the disrespect Bivol showed has haunted him ever since.
Can Bivol stand up and deliver?
When Artur finally started pressuring Bivol non-stop, it was very one-sided. Dimitri looked very frightened and unable to stand and fight. This was the interesting part. Bivol was less courageous than some of Beterbiev's recent opponents, such as Anthony Yarde and Callum Smith.
Both men came to the fight and tried to eliminate Beterbiev. We didn't see that from Bivol, who fought fearfully throughout the entire second half and made the fight boring to watch. It was identical to what Dmitry had in his match against Lyndon Arthur after he was injured in the tournament rounds. Bivol wanted no part of fighting Arthur after getting cut.
Beterbiev's mistakes
- Start slow: The attack didn't start until the sixth round, and by then, Bivol had taken several of the first five rounds. Some believe he did enough to win the five before Beterbiev started putting pressure on him.
- Giving Bivol a lot of respect: Artur seemed concerned about being exposed to Bivol's quick combinations in the first five rounds.
“There's a saying. 'It's cold and lonely up there.' I'm not at the top. I walk on the ground. I'm not alone,” Artur Beterbiev told DAZN Boxing. “All my fans are with me. People near and local.”
Rain or snow the hero is 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗬 💪#betterbievbeful2 | #Riyadh Season | February 22, live on DAZN | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/ger97OJdgi
– DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 9, 2025
