In this week’s mailbag, we tackle your thoughts on Artur Beterbiev’s majority decision victory over Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed light heavyweight championship, including how Beterbiev and Bivol felt about their own performances, as well as the idea of a rematch given that, well, there remains some dispute about who deserves to be undisputed.
We also tackle a dream fight between two of the top talents in the world, both of whom are from Japan: undisputed junior featherweight champion Naoya Inoue and bantamweight titleholder Junto Nakatani.
Want to be featured in the mailbag? Comment or ask a question in the comments section below. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. We also may select readers’ comments from other BoxingScene stories.
Beterbiev may have been unhappy with how he won, but he still won
Artur Beterbiev is not happy unless he gets the stoppage. As his record reflects. He is always looking to improve. The punch stats [in the Dmitry Bivol fight] were basically even, with Artur landing harder shots and controlling the fight. He was the aggressor and he made the fight.
You can’t win a fight running all night unless you barely get touched. Bivol got beat up. His entire plan was to not get stopped. It was obvious. It isn’t amateur boxing. More touches don’t win a pro fight. The criteria is a lot different.
-Theshotyoudontsee
Eric Raskin’s response: There are certain words and phrases here that I just can’t get behind, even though I am in agreement with you – and in disagreement with the majority of the internet – that Beterbiev won the fight.
I scored it 115-113 for Beterbiev. There were far too many close rounds to insist with any conviction that the right guy won. But I will say, without conviction, that if somebody had to win (though a draw would have been perfectly acceptable), it was the fighter whose hand was indeed raised.
Still, I wouldn’t call what Bivol did “running.” I wouldn’t say he “got beat up.” I definitely don’t feel he fought not to get stopped. He fought to try to keep Beterbiev at bay, pushing out that jab as often as he possibly could. It’s exactly the game plan Bivol used to defeat Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, and the difference was that in the later stages of that fight, Canelo accepted his fate rather than going all-out for a come-from-behind KO.
Canelo relented in the face of Bivol’s disciplined boxing. Beterbiev was relentless in the face of that same execution. He grew more aggressive as the fight wore on, and it was his superior work in the final three rounds that pulled him ahead on my scorecard and on the official cards.
Bivol didn’t fight to survive. He fought to win a boxing match, and he was doing so until he found himself slightly overmatched when a fight broke out.
Here’s what Bivol needs to do differently in a rematch
Neither man has any reason to be ashamed of his performance. I would like to have seen Bivol get the decision, but it didn’t work out that way.
I thought Bivol put enough force on Beterbiev to leave his ears ringing all day Sunday, but in the end, Beterbiev seemed to have landed the harder shots; he was the aggressor almost all the time, and toward the end of the fight he (very surprisingly) seemed to have more gas left in his tank. Those things are what counts when a fight is close enough for people to quarrel about the decision.
For Bivol to win next time, he will need to strike with more authority, stand and trade a bit more and – almost unbelievably for Bivol – take his endurance up a notch. He might also help levelize the endurance by taking the fight to Beterbiev’s frequently exposed liver. If I were on his coaching team, I’d suggest watching some videos of Vasiliy Lomachenko and develop techniques for working angles on Beterbiev to get past his guard, and especially on Beterbiev’s right side.
Great contest. The correct decision seems to have been rendered. Here’s hoping for a different outcome in the rematch.
-Bro. Steve
David Greisman’s response: You make an astute observation by bringing up the topic of endurance. There are a couple of things that might have done Bivol in on the scorecards, and both might be endurance-related. (Spoiler alert: Bivol thinks it was something else within his control. More on that in a moment.)
There were a few swing rounds in which Bivol controlled the first half, or the first two minutes, but then Beterbiev finished stronger and landed enough punches – and with enough emphasis – that they stuck in the minds of the judges once the bell rang.
And there were those final rounds when the fight was on the line. Going into the 11th round, one judge had Bivol up 96-94, one judge had it even at 95-95, and one judge had Beterbiev ahead 96-94.
Beterbiev swept those final two rounds, leaving us with the final scores of 114-114, 115-113 and 116-112. Had Bivol won just one of those rounds, the fight would have been a split draw: 115-113 for Bivol, 114-114 and 115-113 for Beterbiev. Had Bivol won those final two rounds, the result would have been a majority decision in his favor.
Bivol says it’s not a matter of endurance, though, that he wasn’t fading or tired.
“I didn’t do these [final] three rounds perfect. I was just trying to find perfect moment,” Bivol said in an interview with Marcos Villegas of FightHub. “I was trying, but I couldn’t. I just had to act. Not just waiting. I just had to act, but I didn’t. Maybe I wasn’t sure it’s right moment, but the time passed very fast, to be honest. Every round for me was like one minute.”
Here’s what else Bivol said he would need to do in a rematch:
“I want to improve more with my movements. I didn’t move enough. I felt I had to move more. More counterpunches. I just need to add more. I felt some moments where I could do it, but I was a little bit careful.”
Rematch between Beterbiev and Bivol isn’t a given
Turki Alalshikh says right now that he wants the rematch between Beterbiev vs Bivol, but nothing is concrete in this business. Promoters talk fantasy scenarios, but it doesn’t always come off (Canelo vs Crawford). What’s good for the fans, and good for the sport, sometimes doesn’t materialize – in this case, the rematch.
It wouldn’t be a shock if Beterbiev moves up to cruiserweight, leaving all the light heavyweight belts behind for one last shot at further glory by facing a 200lbs beltholder. He’s probably too old and too small to make that leap successfully, but these elite boxers always stretch themselves to unrealistic heights for the challenge.
-Scotland The Brave
Lucas Ketelle’s response: In the rollercoaster world of Saudi Arabian boxing, there was a time when it seemed like anything was possible – one superfight after another shaking up the sport. Now that Alalshikh and the Riyadh Season crew are digging deeper into the boxing business, they’re getting a reality check on why this sport has always been operating how it has.
Look at Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol – a fight that could have crowned the top light heavyweight of this generation, but the debate over the decisions overshadows the big picture. It had all the hype. We all wanted it. We still want the rematch, and you probably do, too. Does everyone else? Will the TV networks think it’s worth the investment? Will fans even care enough to tune in?
Beterbiev-Bivol is a purist’s dream: a real chess match in a sport leaning more toward flashy Instagram moments than serious substance. These two aren’t just chasing greatness, however. They’re obsessed with it. Beterbiev, at 39, doesn’t have time on his side. He has maybe three years and a handful of fights left in him, if that. The clock is ticking, and if this rematch doesn’t happen soon, it may never happen at all.
In the next few weeks, we’ll see if there’s enough buzz, both online and behind the scenes, to make the rematch a reality. Hints will drop, rumors will swirl. If it falls through? Don’t act shocked. Boxing’s always been about the money, no matter how much we wish it weren’t.
Remember how Erik Morales vs Marco Antonio Barrera kicked off a legendary rivalry? Sometimes it takes a little chaos to create something great. So will Beterbiev and Bivol revive the sport’s golden days? Or are they just another example of how boxing has become a business-first game?
Forecasting Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani
I’m not willing to say just yet that Junto Nakatani is better than Naoya Inoue. People gotta remember: Naoya Inoue at 118lbs destroyed opponents even more ruthlessly than Nakatani. But due to his physical attributes, Nakatani is more likely to be able to fight at a heavier weight than Inoue when both their careers are over. However, given their current skills, age, experience and competition, If they were to fight in 2025 at 122lbs, I’d say Inoue will still win.
In terms of passing the baton, it would be quite dramatic if during the second half of next year, Inoue (age 32) and Nakatani (age 27) fight at 122, then rematch a few years in the future at featherweight as the undisputed 126lbs Inoue (age 35) vs the undisputed 122lbs Nakatani (age 30) for possibly the final fight of Inoue’s career.
Of course, I certainly won’t be looking forward to Inoue losing, and I think he’ll still go undisputed, but if it is going to happen, given the age difference, I feel like it will be Nakatani.
-Elheath
Jason Langendorf’s response: I don’t disagree with any of the analysis here, which I think is accurate and measured. And you’d better believe I agree with the idea, on principle, of an Inoue-Nakatani matchup – even just one fight at 122, let alone a rematch at 126.
Do I think either will happen? A lot still has to fall into place, including the usual business details, favorable health and continued (convincing) winning on the part of both fighters between now and then. I’m not among those who believe Inoue has fallen off, so I think he should have enough left in the tank to compete in a theoretical rematch with Nakatani.
Much of that, though, depends on Inoue’s future activity and choice of opponents. Are we talking more TJ Dohenys biannually? Or will it be a series of Luis Nerys 3-4 times a year? In any case, the variables that can scuttle Inoue-Nakatani – and certainly Inoue-Nakatani II – in the interim are too numerous to count.
Want to be featured in the mailbag? Comment or ask a question in the comments section below. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. We also may select readers’ comments from other BoxingScene stories.
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