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Dmitry Bivol only had to wait four months to exact his revenge with a hard-fought majority decision win over Artur Beterbiev in another 12-round classic between the light heavyweights.
In almost opposite fashion from the first encounter, Bivol dealt with a charging bull during the early part of the fight but then found his rhythm and really started punishing Beterbiev with quick, nasty punches in succession. Bivol’s speed and footwork paid dividends as he consistently landed the better combinations as Beterbiev slowed down while absorbing far more punishment with each passing round.
When it was over the judges scored the contest 116-112, 115-113 and 114-114, which was still enough for Bivol to earn the victory after falling to Beterbiev in almost identical fashion this past October.
“I’m just so happy,” Bivol said afterwards. “I went through a lot last year. To be honest, I lost and I feel a little bit easier, I didn’t pressure too much before like last fight. I just wanted to work from the first round until the end of the 12th.
“I was better. I was pushing myself more. I was more confident. I just wanted to win so much today.”
As for Beterbiev, he didn’t complain about the outcome but rather gave credit to Bivol on a job well done while acknowledging that these two could easily run it back in a rubber match in the near future.
“I don’t want to talk about the decision. Congrats to Bivol,” Beterbiev said. “I think this fight was better than the first fight but now it’s my time to come back. We are going to do a third fight if we need.”
A notoriously slow started, Beterbiev made it a point to come out more aggressive this time around as he put pressure on early and walked Bivol down. In return, Bivol continuously circled away and showed good speed while looking to establish his world-class jab.
Prior to the fight, Bivol recognized that he needed to stay more active with his punches after losing a close decision in the first fight so he was on his horse and throwing numerous shots in succession. Bivol snapped off several quick combinations including a nasty straight right that slipped right through Beterbiev’s defense.
Still, Bivol had to be careful because every time Beterbiev unloaded one of his biggest punches, he came dangerously close to connecting with fight-ending power.
With Bivol staying so active, Beterbiev uncorked some nasty body shots that landed with thudding accuracy to slow him down. The shots were clearly connecting as Bivol adjusted his defense to protect his midsection after mostly covering his head in many of the biggest exchanges.
As time passed, Beterbiev continued to punish the body as Bivol tried to find a way to adjust to his opponent’s offensive onslaught. The hard worked paid off with Beterbiev constantly keeping Bivol off balance while marching forward with nasty intentions behind every punch thrown.
Midway through the fight just when it looked like Bivol was putting together a strong sixth round, Beterbiev blasted him with a hard right hand that connected clean. Beterbiev surged forward with a barrage of shots, clearly believing that Bivol was rattled from the initial punch landed.
To his credit, Bivol recovered effectively and came back firing with some of his best combinations yet as he timed his punches with Beterbiev’s aggression. Bivol tagged Beterbiev with some strong shots that actually had the 40-year-old Russian standing still for a few moments after he was constantly in hot pursuit from the very start of the fight.
Bivol continued to chip away as he ducked and dodged Beterbiev’s shots and then came back at him with blistering three and four-punch combinations. With the rematch playing out in almost opposite fashion of the first fight, Bivol was just gaining more momentum with each passing minute while Beterbiev was slowing down.
As time ticked away to the final bell, Bivol was cruising with the same speed and accuracy in the 12th round as he showed in the first. Bivol showed a willingness to sit down on his punches but Beterbiev did the same and he was still the more powerful boxer.
That led to a huge cut being opened over Bivol’s eye in the closing seconds but Beterbiev wasn’t able to actually put him down before the fight came to an end. Those dicey closing moments only really mattered on one scorecard that ended in a draw but otherwise, Bivol had clearly pulled ahead through the second half of the fight.
“It was hard to be honest to keep him on the distance for the first four rounds,” Bivol said about the rematch. “I had to be smarter, punch more, clean punches and I did. Every person in my camp help me a lot.”
The win puts the belt around Bivol’s waist while Beterbiev tastes defeat for the first time in his career.
Immediately after the fight ended, Riyadh Season leader Turki Al-Sheikh was already holding three fingers in the air to signify a potential trilogy. Neither fighter seemed opposed to the idea, although Bivol definitely wants a break before possibly running it back again.
“I’m ready for any challenge in the future,” Bivol said. “But I want a little bit of rest because I had some injuries. This time I had injuries and I want a little bit [of time] to heal myself and come back.”
