Dmitry Bivol got revenge on Saturday after defeating Artur Beterbiev in their rematch by majority decision at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
With the win, Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) becomes the undisputed light heavyweight world champion.
One judge had it 114-114, while the other two scored it 116-112 and 115-113 for Bivol.
Just like in the first fight, which took place last October, the rematch was a back-and-forth affair.
According to CompuBox, Bivol landed 142 punches in the first fight, and Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs) landed 137, but Beterbiev landed more power shots(90- 84).
In the rematch, according to CompuBox, Bivol again outlanded Beterbiev(170-121) and landed more power shots(85-78). To his credit, Bivol was able to work behind his jab, which helped set up a lot of his work.
However, Beterbiev pressed forward and hurt Bivol in the 12th, sweeping the final round on all three scorecards, but it wasn’t enough.
Bivol, 34, took his first loss in the first fight, which he said took the pressure off him in this fight.
“To be honest, I lost, and I felt a little easier, maybe,” he said. “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…
“The difference was me. I was better. I was pushing myself more. I was more confident and lighter. And I just wanted to win so much today.”
Beterbiev, 40, says he did not want to Bivol in this fight but would not mind a third fight.
“Actually, I didn’t even want the second fight,” he said. “It wasn’t my choice. But, no problem. We can do the third fight.”
This was another great fight between these two, and we’ll see if there will be a third one. Hopefully, there is!!
Photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank
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