Dmitry Bivol says he wants to “forget” his loss to Artur Beterbiev on Saturday night. Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) is not happy with the way he fought, falling to fight the “perfect” style to defeat IBF, WBC and WBO lightweight champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) in Riyadh.
It’s probably not a good idea for Bivol, 33, to “forget” his loss because he won’t learn anything from it if he doesn’t analyze what went wrong.
What Custa Bivol the fight
– Fading late: Gassing in the last six rounds
– Too much movement
– Beterbiev’s punch and body power
– He doesn’t fight hard in the second half
Bivol lost a 12-round majority decision in a fight that many boxing fans believed he should have won. The judges did not see it their way, scoring 114-114, 115-113 and 116-113. The latest score upset Bivol’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, and many people saw it differently.
Bivol didn’t give much detail about what went wrong after the fight, but it was obvious that he didn’t hold up against Beterbiev in the last six rounds. He had done well in the first half, but then succumbed to Beterbiev’s pressure in the second half.
“I feel emotionally empty now. I went to the ring to win this fight, but I don’t have my belt,” said Dmitry Bivol to Sky Sports Boxingwho looked deflated after losing to Artur Beterbiev on Saturday night. “For my part, I tried to make everything perfect, everything amazing, but I didn’t.
The decision was controversial, but it is important that Bivol understands why the three judges failed to give the victory. It wasn’t a conspiracy on their part to rob him, but rather he didn’t meet Beterbiev’s aggression by laying on him during the second half of the fight. In almost every fight, the judges score in favor of the aggressor.
“I don’t think if I win or lose. I lost because I didn’t have the belt,” said Bivol. “I didn’t do everything perfect. I have to do everything perfect. I’m trying to forget about it and move on now. Of course against this guy, Artur. You shouldn’t stand in front of him. You shouldn’t feel the strings behind on your back, and was trying to move.
Bivol should have stayed in front of Beterbiev more because he spent too much energy moving, and the judges did not like that he was not willing to fight Artur.
“At the same time, I was trying to (have) him spend energy, and I was trying to let him throw his punches. If I have the opportunity, of course, I would like to fight again,” said Bivol.
