Dmitry Bivol, Artur Beterbiev headed for trilogy

The prevailing logic heading into rematches is that whoever won the first fight usually wins the second one easier. Dmitry Bivol upended that logic on Saturday night, when he earned revenge against the only man to defeat him as a professional.

Bivol defeated his Russian compatriot Artur Beterbiev by majority decision at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia to win the undisputed light heavyweight championship. Two judges scored the fight in his favor, 115-113 and 116-112, while the third had it even at 114-114 – the exact same scores as the first fight, but for a different winner.

What was different this time? Bivol says it was himself that had changed from the first fight.

“I was better, I was pushing myself more, I was more confident, I was lighter, and I just wanted to win so much today,” said Bivol, 24-1 (12 KOs), in the post-fight interview.

“I’m just so happy. I went through a lot during the last years.

“To be honest, I lost, and I felt a little easier, maybe. I didn’t have too much pressure like the time before. And I just wanted to work from the first round till the end of the 12th round.”

Beterbiev, who drops to 21-1 (20 KOs), now has his first pro loss against the only boxer who had ever gone the distance with him. Beterbiev, though still processing the loss, already had his eyes on the future. Beterbiev had taken a cue from Riyadh Season head Turki Alalshikh, who signaled what was next by holding up three fingers: a trilogy.

“I don’t know, I think this fight is better than the first fight but we’ll see. It’s now my time to come back,” said the 40-year-old Beterbiev, who declined to comment on the decision.

“Actually I didn’t want a second fight too; it’s not my choice but no problem. We’re gonna do a third fight, definitely.”

Bivol, 34, was less committal about his future, saying he needed some time off to deal with injuries that come with the normal process of training camp.

“I’m ready for any challenge usually but I want to rest a little bit because I have some injuries in summer and this time I got injured and I was using anti-inflammation [treatment] almost all of camp. I want to heal myself and then come back,” said Bivol.

A third fight means a clash with David Benavidez, who established himself as the next logical challenger for the winner by defeating David Morrell earlier this month by unanimous decision, will have to wait as Bivol and Beterbiev to handle their unfinished business. Benavidez, 30-0 (24 KOs), holds the WBC interim light heavyweight title.