Artur Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) feels he must “do everything differently” in his rematch with Dmitry Bivol for him to come out victorious on Saturday night, February 22nd, in Riyadh. Undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev doesn’t say what he must change, but it’s the pressure.
He didn’t put enough pressure on Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) in the first five rounds, and he let him to build a big lead. That’s why the fight was close in the end, which led to a lot of complaining by fans and Bivol’s promoter Eddie Hearn.
“Everything Different”
The Beterbiev-Bivol 2 rematch will be shown live on DAZN PPV at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh this Saturday. In the co-feature, IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois will defend against Joseph Parker.
“I need to do everything different,” said Artur Beterbiev to talkSport Boxing about what he must do to defeat Artur Beterbiev in their rematch on Saturday night.
“I’m expecting a different fight but at a different pace, a higher pace, a higher tempo, and more desperation from Beterbiev. He’ll be thinking, ‘I’m going to need to dig in deep here, and I don’t know if I got the pace in the tank,’” said Johnny Nelson.
“Neither of these guys has a hint of hesitation, and that’s what makes this such a good fight. He [Bivol] has to control the pace, set a high tempo pace. That’s what wins. Long shots, use the jab, use the shots and the footwork. Combine the two so he’s punching and moving at the same time. Not giving Beterbiev the chance to step in the gap when he goes for a breather,” said Nelson.
The way Nelson describes it, it’s clear that Dmitry Bivol will need to move nonstop to avoid getting cooked by Beterbiev when he stops. That will be tiring because he will use a lot of his energy moving and throwing.
What power he starts the fight with will be gone by the sixth round, and he’ll fall prey to Beterbiev’s pressure again, just like in the first fight. The last time they fought on October 12th, Bivol moved so much in the first half of the battle that he had nothing left in the second half.
Last Updated on 02/19/2025
