Dmitry Bivol believes he has the power to knock out undisputed lightweight champion Artur Beterbiev in their rematch on February 22 in Riyadh.
It could be an interesting fight if Bivol chooses to fight more aggressively in the rematch, as he was mostly running and holding for the last seven rounds in his loss to Beterbiev two months ago on October 12 in Riyadh. Therefore, the judges gave the victory to Artur. It looked like Bivol was trying to get a cheap win by doing the least.
Bivol is not a big puncher and could put himself at risk if he tries to go looking for a knockout against Betrbiev, who is above him in the power and toughness department. Dmitry is more of a fitness fighter who uses his boxing skills to win fights. He tried this approach against Beterbiev, but withered when attacked.
The new approach of Bivol
Former WBA 175-lb champion Bivol must change his fighting style 100% to knock out Beterbiev. Dmitry, promoted by Matchroom, was too defensive and showed no desire to stay and engage with Beterbiev.
Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) says he’s been studying video of his 12-round majority decision loss to Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) since Oct. 12 and looking for areas where he can improve to the rematch in 75 days. . The results were 115-113, 116-112 for Betterbiev, and 114-114.
“I try not to pay attention to what people say. I try to pay attention to how I feel after the fight and what I’m going to do,” said Dmitry Bivol to Secondsout about how he removes comments from fans while he heads into his rematch with Artur Beterbiev on February 22nd.
“Of course, I feel that I have enough power. We have a saying: ‘Even a stick (gun) once a year can shoot.’
“It makes you weaker if you find some excuses. He wants to fight,” said Bivol about Terence Crawford wanting to fight Canelo Alvarez.
It’s hard to take Bivol seriously with his talk of believing he can knock Beterbiev down because he looked too scared to do anything, but he survived once Artur got his offense into full gear after the fifth round.
Conquer the doubt
Bivol had a look in his eyes of a person pursued by an angry bearand he had no fight in him. It was pure terror. To even win the rematch by decision, Bivol must be willing to risk getting knocked down, standing and engaging with Beterbiev, because he didn’t last time.
Also, we saw the same thing from Dmitry when he fought Lyndon Arthur last year on December 23. Bivol was hurt by a hard body from Arthur in the eighth and was on the run from that point. When Dmitry is hit hard, he gives up the fight and looks nothing like a world class fighter.
What was funny and off-putting was how Bivol’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, later complained about the decision, feeling that Dmitry had won. Hearn chose not to take the high road to be gracious in defeat and hit on the score.
He should have conceded that Bivol gave the fight away from rounds six through twelve. Of course, if Hearn admitted that Bivol didn’t show heart under the heat of the battle, he wouldn’t have had a point in a rematch.
Hopefully the Beterbiev-Bivol rematch will close the chapter in this rivalry because it will be more fun for the fans to see Beterbiev fight the winner of the February 1 fight between David Benavidez and David Morrell. Those two are much more fan-friendly styles than Bivol, who has a Shakur-esque style.
