By: Sean Crose
The first fight was long awaited. After much anticipation, fans were finally able to find out who was truly the king of the light heavyweight division – hard hitting Artur Beterbiev or chess master Dmitry Bivol. The winner would not only remain undefeated, he would exit the ring as the undisputed light heavyweight champion of the world. So evenly matched were the two men that it was difficult to predict a winner beforehand. Suffice to say, the bout itself did not disappoint. The first four rounds were witness to Bivol’s amazing skill set, as Beterbiev stalked his man in seeming futility. Then the fight switched gears.
Although he was able to maintain his high IQ style of fighting, Bivol started to get hit with Beterbiev’s hardware. The fight remained close and intense. There was even a point where Beterbiev was able to briefly back his man up. It was, to be sure, a very close fight. Afterward, the majority decision in favor of Beterbiev meant that Bivol had come up short – at least technically. Not everyone was impressed with the judge’s ruling. “Defense loses you fights,” former world titlist and broadcaster Chris Algieri said afterward (via Boxing Insider), indicating judges simply prefer aggressive fighters to defensive ones. Whether the man had a point is up to the individual to decide. What can’t be argued is the decision of the judges screamed “rematch.”
And now that rematch will go down Saturday in Saudi Arabia. The main event of an incredibly stacked card, Beterbiev-Bivol 2 may or may not decide once and for all who the better of the two future Hall of Fame fighters is, but it promises to be an extremely interesting affair nonetheless. There’s a good chance the second match will closely resemble the first – with a few important differences. Beterbiev, for instance, started slow in the first bout. He may pick up the pace earlier this time around in order to grab some precious rounds.
Bivol, on the other hand, will almost certainly focus on not being hit as much the second time around. The man had a great start in the first fight. If he could simply hold off Beterbiev for another round or two this time, it truly could make all the difference. Figuratively speaking, this is going to be a battle of inches. Every second is going to count. So, who will win? Algieri may have had a point – defensive fighters, as a general rule, may not get the treatment aggressive fighters do. If that’s the case there’s nothing Bivol can do on Saturday…except make it extremely difficult to rule against him thanks to a near legendary performance. And he may do just that.
Predication: Bivol by split decision. Get ready for Beterbiev-Bivol 3.