Close fight: Bivol and Beterbiev will have one of the most anticipated rematches in history

On February 22, the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh will host the long-awaited rematch between two Russian top boxers: absolute world light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and former WBA Super titleholder Dmitry Bivol. Their first encounter determined the first absolute champion from Russia in this weight class, but the ambiguous outcome caused controversy, which makes the second bout even more intriguing.

With dignity

The fighters have radically different styles. Beterbiev is known for his power - before his first fight with Bivol, he won exclusively early. Dmitry relies on technique and the ability to score points.

Bivol's professional career began in 2014 with a victory over Jorge Rodriguez Oliveira. Already in his fourth fight he won the WBC USA Silver belt, and in 2021 he became WBA Super champion, defending the title four times. Of particular significance was his victory over Saul Alvarez in 2022. In June 2024, he defeated Malik Zinad early.

Arthur made his debut in 2013 with a win over Christian Cruz. Out of 21 fights he finished 20 by knockout, and the only time when the fight lasted the full distance happened in a fight with Bivol. Until that fight, Beterbiev was the only world champion with 100% early wins.

The organization of their first fight was complicated: for a long time the parties could not agree. When the date was set for June 1, 2024, the fight had to be postponed due to Arthur's injury. While he was recovering, Dmitry had another fight and won. In the end, the fighters were brought together in the ring on October 12 in Riyadh. In a tense 12-round meeting, Beterbiev won by a majority vote of the judges: one counted 116:112 in his favor, the second - 115:113, and the third recorded a draw 114:114.

"I won this fight, I got my hand raised," commented Beterbiev on his victory. - The judges are not my friends or relatives. Disagreements in opinions at the end of the fight always happen. Especially this is the first fight in my professional career, which ended not early, but by decision of the judges. They officially expressed their opinion by giving their scores, so everything is normal."

Bivol's team did not agree with this decision, especially with the verdict of the Polish judge, who gave eight rounds to Artur. According to Dmitry's trainer Gennady Mashyanov, his charge deserved to win 8-4. Fans and experts were divided in their opinions, but Bivol himself accepted the defeat with dignity.

"I'm not very happy with my performance in the first fight," Bivol said. - I know I could have been better. I would rate it five or six points out of ten. I have some thoughts where I need to improve. I know the reasons, now I'm interested to see if I can fix it on the second try."

Opinions and fees

The exact fees for the rematch are still unknown, but it was reported that the boxers will receive $15 million each. Before the first fight, Top Rank promoter Bob Arum said that each of the fighters is guaranteed to receive $10 million - record amounts for both. Previously, Bivol's largest fee was $5 million and Beterbiev's was $2.115 million.

Bookmakers find it difficult to determine the favorite. Before the first fight, the odds for victory were almost equal, as well as before the second fight - about 2.00 for each. A draw was estimated at 18.0 odds.

Two-time Olympic boxing champion Alexey Tishchenko believes that the tension in the rematch will not change compared to the first fight.

- Expectations from this fight are prohibitive," Tishchenko told Izvestia. - I think it will be at the same level of tension as the previous one. The result could be completely unexpected, and everything will depend on how well the boxers will approach this fight in physical form and who will do the best work on mistakes. But, of course, in terms of motivation ahead of Dmitry, because he has no belts, he clearly wants to get back for the defeat, because the fight was equal, and the choice of judges was ambiguous.

And the former world champion in the first heavyweight Denis Lebedev is not sure that Bivol can win, but sees Dmitry has a good chance.

- "It will be a great, amazing fight, in which all points will be settled," Lebedev told Izvestia. - It's very good that both agreed to a rematch and we will be able to see it. It's not certain that Bivol will be able to get back for his last defeat, but it's still a great chance for Dmitry to prove that the judges' decision in the first fight was wrong. In that fight, whoever had their hand raised, anyone would have had questions, because Artur and Dmitry are very close.

Former WBA heavyweight champion Nikolay Valuev could not name a favorite either.

- Their first fight left more questions that need solutions," Nikolay Valuev emphasized to Izvestia. - Thank God that these decisions will happen soon. We can only welcome it. We wish the two athletes to put the final dots over i. We treat both Dima Bivol and Artur Beterbiev with great piety. A rematch is very competent, right, while the last fight has not cooled down yet. Preferences? I won't say, I have no right - as I commentate fights. My business is to objectively cover the picture.

The exact time of the fight is still unknown, but it is expected that the evening of boxing will begin at 20:00 Moscow time, and the main event - at 23:30. The broadcast of the first fight was handled by Channel One - the rights to the rematch were also purchased. In addition to the confrontation between Bivol and Beterbiev, the fans are waiting for five more title fights. In one of them Daniel Dubois will try to defend the IBF heavyweight belt against Joseph Parker, and in the lightweight division Shakur Stevenson and Floyd Schofield will play for the WBC title.