Roy Jones Jr. feels that Dmitry Bivol must be aggressive and look for the knockout to defeat undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev in their rematch on February 22nd in Riyadh.
The boxing great Roy Jr. says Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) fought well in the early rounds of the first fight with Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) on October 12th, but then “let” him walk him down in the second half, resulting in his loss.
Bivol Must Attack
Jones Jr. states that Bivol must go on the attack and look for a knockout to be victorious. Bivol’s negative, spoiling defensive style, involving constant movement and clinching, and sporadic keep-off punches, didn’t work last time to get the decision against Beterbiev.
In the rematch, Bivol must show bravery and attack Beterbiev as he did in his fight against fringe contender Malik Zinad on June 1st. Bivol was the aggressor in that fight and scored a sixth-round knockout, his first stoppage in six years since the Sullivan Barrera contest on March 3, 2018.
Bivol would need to change his hit-and-not-get-hit mindset to shoot for a knockout against the four-belt 175-lb champion Beterbiev. He does not like to get hit, and he would need a complete DNA makeover to go on the attack against the KO artist Beterbiev.
Bivol’s body language during the second half of his fight with Beterbiev last October was that of a frightened person, trapped and in sheer panic mode. Whatever fight Bivol initially had in him was gone from the seventh round. He looked like a scared animal fleeing a predator trying to eat him. For Bivol to attack how Jones Jr. is advising doesn’t sound realistic for his timid nature.
Rematch Tactics
“I thought Bivol edged out early, but Beterbiev came back good late. Both of them fought differently than they used to fight,” said Roy Jones Jr. to Secondsout, talking about the first Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol contest on October 12th.
“We were expecting Artur to try and knock him out. So, when he didn’t try and knock him out, it showed us that he has boxing skills, too. This time, I’m hoping Beterbiev boxes smart but hopefully looks for the KO.
“I know that Bivol probably understands that he wants to win this time; he’ll go for the KO. Attack more, be ahead, and when he gets the lead, keep the lead,” said Roy Jr. about what Bivol must do to win the rematch with Beterbiev on February 22nd. “He got the lead, but he let Artur walk him back down.”
The advice that Roy is giving Bivol would work if he had a different head on his shoulders. If you transplanted the courage of contender Willy Hutchinson into the head of Bivol, he could follow Jones Jr’s advice to attack Beterbiev on February 22nd.
Bivol will fight like he did in the first contest with Artur by hitting, running, and holding. That’s all he can do because Bivol lacks the required bravery.
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