Artur Beterbiev says he expects his rematch with Dmitry Bivol to be a very different fight when they meet on February 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) will defend his light heavyweight title for the first time after taking the last belt he needed to earn that distinction from Bivol on October 12 in a 12-round majority decision.
Repetition Strategies
While Bivol says he should move more in the rematch than he did in the first fight, Beterbiev seems to be looking the other way, pointing to being more aggressive early on. Artur gave most of the first rounds by not attacking Bivol.
When Beterbiev continued to attack, it was one-sided, with him chasing Bivol around the ring, nailing him with hard shots, and countering his frequent holds. It was clear that Dmitry had no fight in him when he was attacked.
Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs), his promoter Eddie Hearn, and fans still believe he deserved to win based on his technical skills, but the judges saw it differently. They scored 115-112, 116-112 on Beterbiev, and 114-114.
“I think you are right. We already know how each of us fights. We have seen each other,” said Artur Beterbiev to the media, reacting to being told that Kostya Tszyu said he expects his rematch with Dmitry Bivol to be a completely different type of fight. “I think it will be a different fight.
“Some things can be fixed and improved. Well, his [Bivol] the fists are for the boxer. I probably won’t go up there,” said Beterbiev about the battle between himself and Oleksandr Usyk. “In terms of sports, I would be interested in that fight because we fought boxing in the Olympics. [2012] and the World Championships.
“It would be interesting to try as professionals. Not for money, although money is nice. But my interest in this fight will be purely sports. More than money.
Original Rage
There won’t be much difference in the rematch unless Beterbiev attacks from the start and Bivol moves for three rounds every round. Dmitry won’t try to fight because he was injured in his last attempt, and he doesn’t have the strength or the chin to contend with Beterbiev. So, he will try and win the decision by hitting and running.
“It amazes me how he changes positions,” Beterbiev said of Terence Crawford. “It’s surprising that he’s not a midfielder, but he can switch to both sides. He even said that he did tests to see from me,” said Beterbiev.
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