David Morrell Jnr has added his voice to the debate over who won the first fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. Morrell thinks Beterbiev deserved the win, while many others believe Bivol did enough to merit a victory.
Russia’s Beterbiev, 39, earned a 12-round majority decision win over 34-year-old compatriot Bivol for the undisputed light heavyweight championship last October. Judges scored the bout 115-113, 116-112, and 114-114 in favor of Beterbiev.
The scorecards raised a lot of disagreements among many boxing stakeholder, forcing a rematch which is slated for February 22 in Riyadh.
Ahead of the much-anticipated rematch, Morrell, who is scheduled to face David Benavidez in a crunch meeting on February 1, tipped Beterbiev, 21-0 (20 KOs), to make it 2-0 against Bivol, 23-1 (12 KOs).
“Bivol is a great fighter but I think Beterbiev has more experience which showed in the last fight,” Morrell told BoxingScene. “I think this guy [Beterbiev] is more focused for the win.
“I believe Beterbiev won the last fight and if the rematch goes the same way, I’m confident that he will win again.”
Cuba’s Morrell could have an opportunity to face the winner of Beterbiev-Bivol II if he can defeat Benavidez of Phoenix, Arizona next month. That is not going to be an easy task for the Cuban, who is focused on clinching a superb victory against Benavidez.
When asked if he would prefer a fight with the winner of Beterbiev-Bivol should he get past Benavidez, Morrell said “right now, my mind is on only Benavidez. After the Benavidez fight, we can focus on what’s next. But right now my mind, body, everything, my team, everything is focused on Benavidez.”
Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at [email protected].
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