Artur Beterbiev says it will be different in his rematch against Dmitry Bivol on February 22 in Riyadh. Undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KO) is expected to put Bivol (23-1, 12 KO) under constant pressure, forcing him to fight or run.
In the latter half of their fight on October 12, Bivol suffered significant damage from Beterbiev's constant shots. Although Bivol was wearing gloves to block the punches, the impact of Beterbiev's powerful shots transmitted through his gloves to his face, damaging them. A ban doesn't work when someone punches as hard as Beterbiev.
No more respect
Beterbiev now realizes he fought the wrong way last time. In the first five rounds, he showed great respect for Bivol by not attacking him relentlessly. Artur deviated far from his usual fighting style, allowing Bivol to win uncontested rounds that he would not have won if he had been pressured all the time.
“The opponent is the same, but it's a new fight, and I need to prepare differently. You want to do everything differently,” Artur Beterbiev told George Groves Boxing Club. YouTube channeldiscusses his rematch with Dmitry Bivol on February 22.
“With my team, we will learn more with some details that I cannot tell you. I did enough to win, but I want to do much better,” Beterbiev said of his first fight against Bivol on October 12. “I don’t know. “We'll see, but my focus is the same,” Artur said of the rematch.
“No, I don’t care about that,” Beterbiev said when asked if he was upset about not getting a knockout in his fight with Bivol.
𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩 𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚 🥶 @ABeterbiev #betterbievbeful2 | #Riyadh Season | February 22, live on DAZN | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/ezvdJhax8O
– DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 16, 2025
The judges awarded the victory to Beterbiev by a majority of 12 rounds in their previous fight on October 12 in Riyadh. There was a lot of bitterness from many of Bivol's fans and his promoter Eddie Hearn.
They felt his boxing in the first half was enough to win, but they ignored that he abandoned 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 initially see 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 snap judgments and then close their minds. Bivol lost the fight in the second half because he failed to stand up and fight. Fear got to him and doomed his ability to fight Beterbiev.
