Artur Beterbiev was not happy to hear from Dmitry Bivol’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, who said he disagreed with the decision of their previous fight on October 12. Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) looked annoyed and said that Hearn always has something he doesn’t “agree with”.
Hearn received a conniption after three-belt unified light heavyweight champion Beterbiev defeated his fighter, WBA champion Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs), ruining his plans for a lucrative rematch with Canelo Alvarez. How many chances will Bivol get if he loses again and gets another fight against Beterbiev?
He didn’t want to fight when the going got tough last time and ran when things got hot for him. While some fans think Bivol should have won the first fight with Beterbiev, they clearly formed their opinions after the first five rounds because his white flag of surrender was from the sixth round. He had no fight in him and turned tail and ran from sixth. Hearn helped muddy the waters by complaining incessantly about the decision, but Bivol clearly lost.
I know there was a lot of money on the line if Bivol had won because there would have been a fight against Canelo. If Bivol had won, do you honestly believe Beterbiev would have gotten an immediate rematch?
No way on earth. It would be Canelo vs. Bivol 2 has been. As for Beterbiev, he would have to work his way back to a title shot by the winner of the David Benavidez vs. David Morrell fight because he is not as well connected as Bivol.
Will Beterbiev spoil things?
Hearn hoped that Bivol could capture Beterbiev’s three titles and use the undisputed 175-lb championship as a lure to get Canelo to move up to face him. Beterbiev ruined everything by relentlessly attacking the timid boxer Bivol and chasing him around the ring for the last six rounds to win a 12 round majority decision by scores 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 threw a fit afterwards and complained that Bivol deserved the win. He didn’t. The only way you can give Bivol the win is if the judges stop scoring the match after six rounds. If it had been a six-rounder, Bivol would have won easily.
Hearn’s fighter, Bivol, gets another shot against Beterbiev in their rematch on February 22 in Riyadh. If Bivol can’t win this fight, having a trilogy is a waste of time. If Bivol wins, he will have the titles to lure Canelo. If that fight doesn’t happen, there’s always the trilogy with Beterbiev that Bivol can fall back on.
If he loses on points, Hearn will probably scream bloody murder and complain that Bivol deserved the win again.
It will be interesting to see if Turki Al-Sheikh sympathizes with Hearn’s complaints and gives Bivol another undeserved third fight instead of making the David Beterbiev vs. David Morrell winner to give Artur a chance. American fans want to see some new blood there in Beterbiev instead of seeing the runner, Bivol, who is constantly getting chances.
“Yes, he did a good job. We can say the hardest fight,” said Artur Beterbiev BoxNation when asked if Dmitri Bivol is the toughest fight of his career so far. “Eddie Hearn always disagrees with something,” Beterbiev said, reacting to the fact that Bivol’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, disagreed with the decision of their previous fight on October 12. “It’s always something.
“I’m honored to be the main event in this card. Great fight, they do. It was a good experience. Unbelievable, 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 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 myself. I love fighting in Riyadh because they make beautiful events, great events. Every fighter wants that, and I’m looking forward to coming back.
“Obviously every camp is different, and we’ve also made some changes, which I’ll talk about after the fight. I’m glad I have this chance,” said Bivol.
Revenge on the mind… 💭
🎥 @bivol_d | #BeterbievBivol2 | #Riyadh Season | Feb 22, live on DAZN | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/hPwhSjeEJd
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 17, 2025
