Dmitry Bivol avenged his 2024 loss to Artur Beterbiev, defeating his rival by majority decision for the undisputed light heavyweight championship early Sunday morning at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The rematch was set 133 days after Beterbiev won a narrow majority decision in October, and the second fight was every bit as good as the first, featuring momentum swings between the skillful tactician in Bivol and the bludgeoning power puncher in Beterbiev.
Two judges scored the bout for Bivol, 116-112 and 115-113, while the third judge scored it a draw at 114-114.
Bivol said he was able to fight more relaxed this time around after losing the first bout with Beterbiev.
“I didn’t [feel] pressure too much this time like before, and I just wanted to work from the first round until the end of the 12th,” Bivol said in his ring interview afterward.
He added: “I was better [this time]. I was pushing myself more, I was more confident, I was lighter and I just wanted to win so much today.”
After spending 36 minutes in the ring together in the first fight, both fighters were familiar with what the other had to offer. Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) made the first adjustment by standing flat-footed in front of Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs) rather than staying on his toes and moving around the ring. The slight alteration in strategy yielded early results as Bivol was sharp behind the jab and prevented Beterbiev from unloading his power shots.
But Beterbiev, 40, continued to push forward and force Bivol to fight at a hectic pace. Bivol found success putting together combinations with several punches piercing through Beterbiev’s guard. Although Bivol was more active, Beterbiev’s body punching began to wear on the challenger. Beterbiev placed his foot firmly on the gas in the fifth round and slammed punches into the body and head of Bivol, moving him around the ring with every punch.
Bivol, 34, steadied himself in the seventh round and put combinations behind the jab. A short left hook in the eighth round forced Beterbiev to reset and think twice about pushing forward. With Beterbiev’s punch output diminishing, Bivol took advantage of his tiring opponent and pelted him with clean combination punching in the center of the ring.
“It was hard, to be honest, to keep him on the outside for the first four rounds,” Bivol said. “And then I saw that he was tired. I was also tired, but I had to be smarter. I have to punch more with clean punches. And I did.”
With Bivol looking fresher in the championship rounds, Beterbiev needed to find something to alter the course of the fight. The skill and precision punching of Bivol halted Beterbiev’s advances.
Unlike the first fight, where Bivol released his grip on the fight, he bit down on his mouthpiece and was busier to close the show. In a last-ditch effort, Beterbiev stunned Bivol with a right hand late in the 12th round and opened up a cut over his left eye. But Bivol stymied Beterbiev’s final salvo by clinching and avoiding further damage.
“I don’t want to talk about the decision,” Beterbiev said after suffering his first career loss. “Congrats to Bivol.”
Bivol barely edged Beterbiev 142-137 in total punches landed in their first fight, but he had a significant edge in the rematch, landing 170 punches to Beterbiev’s 123. Bivol also outlanded Beterbiev in nine of the 12 rounds.
With the two splitting a pair of extremely close fights, it appears obvious that a rubber match would be next. But there’s an outside chance that interim light heavyweight titleholder David Benavidez will get an opportunity to challenge Bivol for the undisputed title after securing his place as next in line following his unanimous decision victory over David Morrell earlier this month.
Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, was seen ringside holding three fingers in the air following the decision, appearing to signal that a trilogy is on the horizon.
Said Beterbiev: “We’re going to do a third fight.”
