Promoter Eddie Hearn says nothing has been signed or agreed with Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2 rematch for February 22.
Undisputed lightweight champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) and Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) are being talked about as both headliners and co-features on the main card of the Riyadh season of His Excellency Turki Alalshikh on February 22.
Bivol gave it to him
Hearn is eager for his fighter, reigning WBA lightweight champion Bivol, to face Beterbiev for a chance to avenge his 12-round majority decision loss on October 12.
Matchroom promoter Hearn is still adamant Bivol deserved the win, but has kept a stiff upper lip and hasn’t cried or whined about the decision since fight night.
If Hearn wants to be mad at someone, he should look at Bivol because he blew it. He didn’t have the heart to fight once Beterbiev turned the heat on him. No matter how many runs and holds Bivol did, he couldn’t keep Beterbiev out.
People who didn’t have a dog in the hunt say that Bivol gave himself a chance to win by getting on his bike starting in the seventh after Beterbiev went into his search and destroy mode.
Bivol had no chance at that point. He was forced to flee because he was taking vicious shots from Beterbiev every time he stopped moving, and the clinching he was doing wasn’t helping. Beterbiev battled through the hold and hammered Bivol at will. From the seventh round, Beterbiev dominated the last six rounds.
Hearn: No rematch deal
“Nothing has been signed and agreed upon regarding the rematch. Of course, we know that His Excellency has requested that rematch in the ring,” said Eddie Hearn Pro Boxing fans on the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol on February 22. “There have been discussions. Nothing confirmed yet, and when it is, I’m sure he will make an announcement.”
Out of all the excellent fights on the February 22 card, the most interest is in the Beterbiev vs. Bivol rematch. There are some good fights on the card, but this one tops them all.
Paper of February 22
– Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker
– Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2
– Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis vs Vergil Ortiz Jr.
– Carlos Adames vs. Hamzah Sheeraz
– Shakur Stevenson vs. Floyd Schofield
– Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabaiel
“Your main event is probably another tough chess match. The main event was a chess match because Bivol didn’t break,” said Paulie Malignaggi to Probox TV around February 22 possible main event fight between undisputed lightweight champion Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Beterbiev Will attack
It will be a chess match because of Bivol, not Beterbiev. He’s going to be looking for a knockout and put Bivol’s feet on the fire right away rather than waiting until the seventh round. Bivol knows that he cannot afford to try to throw combinations like he tried to do in the seventh.
That’s how Beterbiev hurt him. Bivol must hit, run and keep in that order because it is his only chance. He doesn’t have the chin or staying power and just Beterbiev because he is deficient in those areas.
“If Beterbiev can make Bivol break down a little bit like most of his opponents break down and Bivol starts to lose position because he can’t have the mental focus, that fight will also open up. That fight is not opened the first time because neither guy breaks the position. It was a very disciplined fight at the highest level,” said Malignaggi.
Positioning = Nonstop Movement
The positioning that Malignaggi talks about with Bivol is how to run when under attack from Beterbiev because that is almost all he did throughout the second half of the fight when he started to feel the heat. The positioning is just right talk about code from Malignaggi for Bivol going into survival mode and abandoning the fight. He was no longer looking to win from the seventh after being injured by Beterbiev.
“Let me tell you how hard it is to do when you have guys setting traps, and a guy (Beterbiev) hits super hard and all the passives and nuances happen. It was a very high IQ fight, and I don’t know if words can also explain,” Malignaggi said.
“I can’t guarantee it will happen again, but maybe it could because neither of these guys were convinced they couldn’t win the fight the first time. Beterbiev, to me, looked like he was surprised that he won the fight. Neither l Neither was convinced that the results could not have been the other way around.
There was no surprise on Beterbiev’s face when the scores were read. I knew I had won because Bivol stopped fighting in the second half, and it was so clear who was the winner. If you look at Bivol’s face, he knew he had lost and he didn’t show any emotion when it was announced that he had lost.
Beterbiev’s surprise?
The only one who was upset was Hearn, who, when he was spastic, panted non-stop, a classic example of a sour loser. He could take the high road and show some class, but no, he was going to do dirty in the post-fight interview. He looked like a child having a tantrum.
“Beterbiev, for me, seemed to be a little surprised that he got the decision. Bivol did not complain that he did not get the decision, but he feels that he could have had the decision. Most of the people thought he might have made the decision,” Malignaggi said, reading things that weren’t there.
“It could open, but neither man will break, and neither man will feel that they did enough the first time. I think you have a good fight here,” said Malignaggi.
There is a good chance that Beterbiev will stop Bivol next time because he knows what he did wrong. He started too slowly, giving Bivol too much respect.
Beterbiev knows he’s going to start early, pressure, chase, and not let Bivol clinch because that’s what he’s going to do. Bivol is a spoiler and it doesn’t matter if it makes the fight unwatchable by moving. He just wants to win any way he can.
