Beterbiev: ‘It’s Not Lonely at the Top’ – But Can He Stay There After Bivol 2?

Artur Beterbiev is 44 days away from his rematch with Dmitry Bivol on February 22nd in Riyadh.

The undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) is looking to close the chapter in his Rivalry with Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) a second time. He will do this in a fashion that will leave fans and his promoter unable to complain like they’ve been doing 24/7.

No More Mistakes

The event on February 22nd will be shown live on DAZN PPV. Several of the undercard fights are arguably better than the main event.

Beterbiev’s 12-round majority decision win over Bivol in their fight on October 12th last year wasn’t decisive enough to satisfy fans to allow him to move on to bigger and better things against more popular fighters.

As such, Artur is stuck doing it again, but this time, he’s expected to attack Bivol relentlessly, chasing him around to get the knockout. Beterbiev’s mistakes in his fight with Bivol made it closer than it should have been.

Bivol angered Beterbiev in the seventh round when he unleashed a four-punch combination. He was trying to do what he’d done against Artur against Canelo Alvarez. That woke up Beterbiev’s competitive spirit and the disrespect that Bivol had shown, and he went after him from then on.

Can Bivol Stand And Deliver?

When Artur finally began pressuring Bivol nonstop, it was one-sided. Dmitry looked scared out of his wits and unable to stand and fight. That was the interesting part. Bivol was less courageous than some of Beterbiev’s recent opponents, like Anthony Yarde and Callum Smith.

Both of those guys came to fight and tried to knock out Beterbiev. We didn’t see that from Bivol, who fought scared for the entire second half and made the fight boring to watch. It was identical to how Dmitry fought in his match against Lyndon Arthur after being hurt by him in the championship rounds. Bivol wanted no part of fighting Arthur after being clipped.

Beterbiev’s Mistakes

• Starting slow: He didn’t go on the attack until the sixth round, and by then, Bivol had banked many of the first five rounds. Some believe he’d done enough to win all five before Beterbiev began putting the heat on him.
• Giving Bivol Too Much Respect: Artur looked worried about getting hit by Bivol’s speedy combinations in the first five rounds.

“There’s a saying. ‘It’s cold and lonely at the top.’ I’m not at the top. I walk the earth. I’m not lonely,” said Artur Beterbiev to DAZN Boxing. “All my fans with me. Close and native people.”