Beterbiev: ‘It’s not lonely at the top’, but can he stay there after Bivol 2?

Artur Beterbiev is 44 days away from his rematch with Dmitry Bivol on February 22nd in Riyadh.

Undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) looks to close the chapter on his Rivalry with Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) for the second time. He will do it in a way that will leave the fans and his promoter unable to complain like they have been doing 24/7.

No more mistakes

The February 22 event can be seen live on DAZN PPV. Several of the lower card decks are arguably better than the main event.

Beterbiev’s 12-round majority decision win over Bivol in their fight on October 12 last year was not decisive enough to satisfy fans to allow him to move on to bigger and better things against more popular fighters .

As such, Artur is stuck doing it again, but this time, he’s expected to attack Bivol relentlessly, chasing him for the knockout. Beterbiev’s mistakes in his fight with Bivol made it closer than it should have been.

Bivol angered Beterbiev in the seventh round when he unleashed a four-punch combination. He was trying to do what he had done against Arthur Canelo Alvarez. This awakened Beterbiev’s competitive spirit and the lack of respect he had shown Bivol, and from then on he went after him.

Can Bivol withstand and deliver?

When Artur finally began to pressure Bivol relentlessly, it was one-sided. Dmitry looked scared and unable to fight. This was the interesting part. Bivol was less brave than some of Beterbiev’s recent opponents, such as Anthony Yarde and Callum Smith.

Both came to fight and tried to knock Beterbiev out. We didn’t see that from Bivol, who fought scared throughout the second half and made the fight boring to watch. It was identical to how Dmitry fought in his match against Lyndon Arthur after being hurt by him in the championship rounds. Bivol did not want to participate in the fight against Arthur after being cut.

Beterbiev’s mistakes

• Starting slow: He didn’t go on the offensive until the sixth round, and by then Bivol had racked up a lot of the first five rounds. Some believe he had done enough to win all five before Beterbiev started to turn the heat on him.
• Giving too much respect to Bivol: Artur looked worried about being hit by Bivol’s quick combinations in the first five rounds.

“There is a saying. “It’s cold and sunny at the top.” I’m not on top. I walk the earth. I’m not alone,” Artur Beterbiev told DAZN Boxing. “All my fans with me. Close and native people.”

Rain or snow the champion is READY 💪#BetterbievBivol2 | #Riyadh season | February 22, live on DAZN | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/ger97OJdgi

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 9, 2025