Artur Beterbiev believes he will have to make few changes in his bout with Dmitry Bivol on February 22 in Saudi Arabia.
Beterbiev and Bivol competed in a high-level competition last October in Saudi Arabia. With both men showing why they are the two leading men at 175 pounds, Beterbiev was the man who had his hand raised at the end of a highly competitive 12-round bout. and was crowned the undisputed light heavyweight champion.
This decision was contested by many and at home who believed that Bivol was the rightful winner. Now the pair will face each other again.
“Although people said it was a close fight or something. But I feel like I won this fight,” Beterbiev said of the decision. “The first fight is the first fight. But in the second fight we’ll see what happens there.
“I think we can change some things. Something that can be different. We need to make enough changes to win, you know?”
Bivol became the first man to carry Beterbiev the distance in his first match. Bivol was able to use his feet to navigate the oncoming storm that the rest of Beterbiev’s opponents folded under.
“He didn’t surprise me. But he did a good job,” he said of Bivol’s performance.
Beterbiev was asked if he planned to increase the pressure on Bivol this time to force a stop. He replied: “We’ll see. I don’t know. I can’t say that.”
After spending 12 difficult rounds together While many fighters have gained respect and friendship through fighting, Beterbiev revealed that this was not the case for him and Bivol.
“There is no relationship. He’s still my opponent,” he said. “If he wasn’t an opponent, he wasn’t. But he’s still an opponent now, you know.”
Beterbiev had little to say heading into his fight with IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia, but when asked what he had left to succeed in the sport, he said: “Can you ask me after the fight?”
