Dmitry Bivol’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, says his Excellency Turki Alalshikh has told him that the rematch with undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev is “in progress”. Hearn is not saying when the rematch will take place.
Beterbiev’s promoter, Bob Arums, says the rematch will take place in the next Riyadh season in October 2025. Before then, Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) will defend his newly won undisputed 175-lb championship. Beterbiev’s IBF mandatory Michael Eifert could be his next opponent early next year.
Hearn remains convinced that Bivol (23-1 12 KOs) deserved the win against Beterbiev on Oct. 12 in Riyadh. He let him win 8-4. The judges saw it to Beterbiev by a 12-round majority decision, with scores of 115-113, 116-112 and 114-114. Bivol used too much movement in the latter half of the fight, especially in the championship rounds, and lost the match.
Hearn should speak to Bivol before the rematch to let him know that he needs to fight more aggressively because he looked like he was running in rounds 8, 9, 10, 11 and 12. This came after Beterbiev hurt Bivol in round 7 and took the fight out of him.
“His Excellency told us the rematch is underway. So, we will wait for the final confirmation of that,” said Eddie Hearn Fight Hub TV about the rematch between undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and Dmitri Bivol.
Hearn left out the part about the rematch taking place in October 2025, but that’s when it will likely be. He will need to find an opponent to keep Bivol sharp before the rematch. Someone who can approach Beterbiev’s style would be ideal.
Beterbiev’s trainer John Scully said Bivol’s decision to run in the last three rounds caused him to lose the fight because he gave away the crucial part of the fight. Scully points out that when one fighter finishes strong in the last three rounds, like Beterbiev, they often win. Bivol was on the run and no longer interested in fighting. He was just trying not to get knocked out.
“You can’t win the last three rounds and say: ‘I think I won.’ If I’m going to lose the last three laps, and I’m basically running. If I avoid contact, I won’t feel like a winner,” Beterbiev’s trainer, John Scully, told the One round with George channel, talks about Dmitri Bivol not being able to win the last three rounds against Artur Beterbiev due to his choice to move rather than fight.
“Artur finished super strong. He had him on the run. If you’re a fighter, you don’t want to be the fighter with a completely broken face and I’m constantly moving. There is a reason why you are moving. You move because the guy doesn’t hit hard.
“If you’re moving just to get out of the way, it’s hard to feel like a winner. I’d rather be the guy who comes forward. You can’t say that Artur didn’t try to make the fight. He was in with a master boxer,” Scully said of Beterbiev fighting a technical boxer in Bivol.
“If he (Beterbiev) was in with a guy who was a tough opponent, but he was a blast, we’d go home in three rounds. His strength did not leave him. If someone is an old box that’s that careful and that accurate, you’re not going to look good. Look at all the punchers that fought him and couldn’t do anything,” Scully said.
Bivol’s movement in the second half of the fight made it impossible for Beterbiev to look great as he chased him down. It was interesting to see how Bivol changed his fighting style to go up against Canelo Alvarez, Gilberto Ramirez, Lyndon Arthur and Malik Zinad. Bivol fought aggressively against those fighters, but he was a completely different fighter against Beterbiev.
