Pod host Teddy Atlas believes Dmitry Bivol will gain more from his fight against Artur Beterbiev than the other way around and will be better in the rematch in 2025.
Atlas argues that Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs), having shown that he could get past the boogeyman Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) in one piece in a close fight, will benefit him in the rematch.
Moreover, Atlas maintains that with Beterbiev turning 40 on January 21st, his punishment in his clash against Bivol will affect him for the second contest.
Bivol was punished more than Beterbiev and hurt in the championship rounds. It wasn’t a physical fight by any means due to the movement Bivol used for the full 12 rounds, especially in the later quarter of the contest. He admitted after the fight that he had copied Sugar Ray Leonard’s fighting style for his match against Marvin Hagler on April 6, 1987. Leonard was moving, throwing weak shoeshine flurries, and taking big shots from Hagler in his controversial win.
Bivol was on the run, trying to escape Beterbiev’s pressure and giving up the championship rounds without a fight. The 33-year-old Bivol had no interest in fighting Beterbiev from rounds 9 through 12. That’s where Bivol lost the fight.
“He [Beterbiev] becomes 40. I would say the guy that is closer to 40 would be more affected by that kind of fight in a rematch than the guy [Bivol] that is seven years younger,” said Teddy Atlas on his channel, making an argument that Artur Beterbiev took the punishment in his fight last Saturday night that will affect him in his rematch with Dmitry Bivol.
What Atlas says here doesn’t fit this fight because it wasn’t a war. Bivol mainly landed defensive keep-away jabs and only opened up once in the fight, in the seventh round, when he briefly flurried on Beterbiev. Interestingly, that round was the turning point of the fight, as Beterbiev went on the attack, hurting Bivol and dominating the remainder of the contest.
Round seven was Bivol’s one brief moment of courage, and it ended up being his downfall because Beterbiev hurt him and gave up trying to fight from that moment on.
Rounds 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12 all belonged to Beterbiev because he was stalking a very scared-looking Bivol and nailing him with shots. Bivol was in survival mode.
“Bivol will be less accepted physically, whereas Beterbiev might be more impacted in a rematch. Who does it benefit more from a physical and emotional experience? I think it benefits Bivol more. Bivol will be better for that experience in the rematch,” said Atlas.
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