David Benavidez insists that former WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol deserved to win his fight against IBF/WBC/WBO champ Artur Beterbiev on October 12th last year in Riyadh.
Bivol’s Superiority
WBC ‘interim’ 175-lb champion Benavidez says Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) threw the better combinations and controlled most of the fight. He feels that if Bivol, 34, fights the same way as last time, he’ll defeat undisputed champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) in their rematch on February 22nd in Riyadh. Their fight will be shown live on DAZN PPV.
Some believe that the reason that Benavidez is picking Bivol to win the rematch is his desire for him to be victorious because he might lack the confidence to defeat Beterbiev, who is a massive puncher. The ‘Mexican Monster’ Benavidez’s fighting style involves him putting every ounce of energy into every punch he throws to get maximum power on his shots.
David is not a big puncher, so he loads up on everything he throws to improve his power. That style won’t work against Beterbiev because he throws short punches with huge power, and unlike Benavidez, he doesn’t have to wind up to generate his strength.
If Benavidez fights Artur, it will be a miserable night. He couldn’t load up on his shots because he’d get tagged. Moreover, David’s rapid-fire combination punches would leave him open to being countered by Beterbiev and knocked out.
Although Benavidez takes good shots due to his thick skull, which has a slight acromegaly-like appearance, his ability to take shots to the body isn’t as good. He can be hurt there. In the 12th round, Oleksandr Gvozdyk landed a hard right hand to Benavidez’s midsection, shutting down his offense entirely for the remainder of the round.
He didn’t throw one punch after being hurt to the body by Gvozdyk in the final round. Beterbiev is a better body puncher than Gvozdyk, and he will have seen that weakness and focus on that area rather than wasting punches on Benavidez’s thick skull.
Rematch Prediction
“I thought Bivol won that fight. It was a close fight. It couldn’t have gone either way,” said David Benavidez to the media, talking about the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol fight on October 12th last year in Riyadh.
“I feel that Bivol won most of the rounds. He was controlling most of the rounds, and his combination punching was better,” Benavidez continued. “I think he [Bivol] does [win the rematch on February 22nd].
“Both of those fighters are high-caliber fighters. So they can make adjustments. I don’t know if it’s going to be the same fight or not, but if it’s the same fight, I feel Bivol wins.”
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