Beterbiev On Bivol: “Good Fight, Not Close,” KO In Sight?

Artur Beterbiev got an interviewer with Sky Sports nervous when he jokingly moved towards him when asked if he thought his previous fight with Dmitry Bivol was a “close fight” last October. Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) showed good acting skills.

Beterbiev’s Frustration 

It bothers Artur that his fight with Bivol was close because it should have ended by a knockout if he could have gotten to him when he began running in the sixth. Beterbiev was coming off knee surgery, and he wasn’t quick enough on his feet to get to Bivol when he chose to move the entire second half of the fight. Things will be different in the rematch.

Beterbiev’s knee has been strengthened, and he’ll be ready to cut off the ring on Dmitry if he chooses to run in the rematch. He might not. Bivol may decide to hold and wrestle Beterbiev to shut down his offense.

Undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev wants a more conclusive ending in his rematch with Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) on February 22. They will meet at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The event will be shown live on DAZN.

Beterbiev defeated Bivol by a 12-round majority decision on October 12th in a fight that a lot of fans felt should have gone the other way. However, there’s no debate on the fact that Beterbiev looked like the one who wanted it more in the second half of the contest, as he was the one doing all the fighting. Bivol had given up the ship by just thinking about survival.

The way Beterbiev took over the fight makes it difficult not to see him winning the rematch because he was on another level than Bivol. Artur showed that he was willing to walk through whatever shots Bivol threw to get to him to land his harder punches, which were doing a lot of damage to the will of the former WBA champion.

Bivol lacked the courage to stand and fight Beterbiev. We’ll probably see the same fear from Bivol in the rematch on February 22nd because he does not like getting hit, especially by someone who hits as hard as Beterbiev.

The “Close Fight” Question

“It was a good fight. Not a close fight. You say a ‘Close fight?’” said Artur Beterbiev jokingly to Sky Sports Boxing about his previous clash against Dmitry Bivol on October 12th. “Not a close fight. A good fight. “He’s good. Technical skills, boxing skills, he’s smart, and he’s a good boxer.

“I don’t think about these things. It’s not important to me,” said Beterbiev when asked who has the better ringwalk between him and Bivol. “It’s important to go out on the legs.  I think he has more fans. Knockout power? Yeah, if you compare with statistics, yes, but I don’t think so,” said Beterbiev when asked if he has better power than Bivol. “I’m lucky. It’s all because I’m lucky.

“We’re talking about Beterbiev? Yeah, Beterbiev [has better power]. He had 100% knockout before the first fight,” said Bivol. “I think my defense is better. I hope I will win.

“I have a good fanbase,” said Bivol.”They support me in Kyrgyzstan and Russia. I love them, my fans. Everywhere in the world, I have some fans. One of the biggest is in Kyrgyzstan,” said Bivol.

“We will see,” said Beterbiev when asked who wins his fight with Bivol.