Artur Beterbiev faces Dmitry Bivol in a rematch on Saturday, February 22 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The pair run it back following their first fight last October at the same venue.
The first fight between Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) and Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) crowned the first four-belt champion at light heavyweight. Beterbiev put his unified IBF, WBC, and WBO titles on the line, while Bivol brought his WBA strap to the ring.
The fighters went head-to-head for 12 rounds in a world championship bout that ended in a majority decision. One judge scored the fight 114-114, while two others had it 115-113 and 116-112 in favor of Beterbiev.
Stepping through the ropes on Saturday in Riyadh, 40-year-old Montreal, Quebec-based Artur Beterbiev makes the first defense of his undisputed 175-pound title and looks to remain undefeated. 34-year-old Dmitry Bivol of Kyrgyzstan aims to take revenge, avenge his sole career defeat, and claim the title.
Betterbiev will win again.
The way I see it, Bivol fought the best fight he could the first time. I don’t see how he can realistically improve on that performance other than sitting on his punches more, but that might lead him to a KO loss. Beterbiev will be even further removed from his injury and now is not coming off a long layoff.
I got Beterbiev with a 2nd straight win.