“I want to do much better”: Beterbiev promises aggressive strategy in Bivol 2

Artur Beterbiev says it will be different in his rematch against Dmitry Bivol on February 22 in Riyadh. Undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) is expected to put Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) under constant pressure, forcing him to fight or run.

In the latter half of their fight on October 12, Bivol took a lot of damage from Beterbiev’s constant shots. Although Bivol had gloves up to block the punches, the impact of Beterbiev’s hard shots traveled through the gloves to his face, damaging them. The lock doesn’t work when someone hits as hard as Beterbiev.

No more respect

Beterbiev now understands that last time he fought the wrong way. In the first five rounds, he showed Bivol too much respect by not attacking him relentlessly. Artur moved away from his usual fighting style, allowing Bivol to win uncontested rounds that he would not have won if he had been pressured the entire time.

“The opponent is the same, but it’s a new fight and I have to prepare differently. You want to do everything differently,” said Artur Beterbiev at George Groves Boxing Club YouTube channeltalking about his rematch with Dmitry Bivol on February 22.

“With my team, we will learn more with some details that I cannot tell you. I did enough to win, but I want to do much better,” Beterbiev said of his first fight against Bivol on Oct. 12. “I don’t know. We’ll see, but my approach is the same,” he said Artur on the rematch.

“No, that doesn’t matter to me,” Beterbiev said when asked if he was worried about not getting the knockout in his fight with Bivol.

Constant pressure 🥶 @ABeterbiev #BetterbievBivol2 | #Riyadh season | February 22, live on DAZN | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/ezvdJhax8O

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 16, 2025

The judges gave Beterbiev the win by a 12-round majority decision in their previous fight on October 12 in Riyadh. There was a lot of bitterness from the many fans of Bivol and his promoter, Eddie Hearn.

They felt that his boxing in the first half was enough to win, but they ignored that he had stopped fighting after five rounds and was running like someone chased by a dog. It’s interesting how fans form opinions based on what they initially see in the early rounds and then close their minds to what happens in the second half of fights. It’s human nature.

Lazy people make snap judgments and then shut down their brains. El Bivol lost the fight in the second half because he didn’t get up and fight. Fear had gripped him and overpowered his ability to fight Beterbiev.