Artur Beterbiev says he will be different in his rematch against Dmitry Bivol on February 22 in Riyadh. Undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) is expected to put Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) under constant pressure, forcing him to fight or run.
In the latter half of their fight on October 12, Bivol took a lot of damage from Beterbiev’s constant shots. Although Bivol had gloves on to block the blows, the impact of Beterbiev’s hard shots traveled through his gloves and into his face, damaging it. Blocking doesn’t work when someone hits as hard as Beterbiev.
No more respect
Beterbiev now understands that he fought wrong last time. In the first five rounds, he showed Bivol too much respect by not attacking him relentlessly. Artur deviated from his usual fighting style, which allowed Bivol to win uncontested rounds that he would not have won if he was pressed all the time.
“The opponent is the same, but it’s a new fight, and I have to prepare differently. You want to do everything differently,” Artur Beterbiev told the George Groves Boxing Club YouTube channeldiscussing his rematch with Dmitri Bivol on February 22.
“With my team we will learn more with certain details that I cannot tell you. I did enough to win, but I want to do much better,” Beterbiev said about his first fight against Bivol on October 12. “I don’t know. We will see, but my focus is the same,” Artur said about the reunion.
“No, I don’t care about this,” Beterbiev said when asked if he was bothered about not getting the knockout in his fight with Bivol.
Constant pressure 🥶 @ABeterbiev #BeterbievBivol2 | #Riyadh Season | Feb 22, live on DAZN | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/ezvdJhax8O
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 16, 2025
The judges gave Beterbiev the victory by a 12-round majority decision in their previous fight on October 12 in Riyadh. There was much bitterness from Bivol’s many fans and his promoter, Eddie Hearn.
They felt that his boxing in the first half was enough to win, but they ignored that after five rounds he gave up fighting 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 fights. It’s human nature.
Lazy people make quick judgments and then shut down their brains afterwards. Bivol lost the fight in the second half because he could not stand and fight. Fear came over him and controlled his ability to fight Beterbiev.
