Artur Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) and Dmitry Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) are preparing to run it back for the undisputed light heavyweight championship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, this Saturday.
The first bout, which took place last year on October 12, saw Beterbiev claim the majority-decision with scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 114-114. The Russian rivals top another extravagant card, which includes Daniel Dubois defending his IBF heavyweight title against Joseph Parker, Zhilei Zhang taking on the undefeated Agit Kabayel, Carlos Adames defending his WBC middleweight title against Hamzah Sheeraz, and Floyd Schofield challenging Shakur Stevenson for the WBC lightweight title.
Former WBO super featherweight champion Barry Jones leads the commentary team for DAZN in the Saudi Arabian capital. He spoke exclusively to FightsATW to give his expert analysis of the mega-fight dubbed āThe Last Crescendo.ā
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An š®š§šš¢š¬š©š®ššš rematch awaits when @ABeterbiev and @bivol_d run it š#BeterbievBivol2 | #RiyadhSeason | Feb 22, live on DAZN: Click link in bio to buy | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/la9APJsobU
ā DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) February 17, 2025
āIt wasn’t a barnstorming war,ā Jones said of the first fight. āI thought it was better because it was more technical than what you would have expected. It did flow back and forth. You could see them both trying to readjust and get the upper hand. Neither one wanted to have too much success. I thought it was a, without being super exciting from bell to bell, a really constantly intriguing contest where you always have to think what was going on next. You couldnāt take your eyes off it for a second. That’s all mainly down to Beterbiev because of the way he fights because he’s so good.ā
Many Spectators Contested The Decision Going In Favour of Beterbiev
āI thought it was a really close fight, and they just saw it in the favour of the other guy,ā Jones explained. āI can understand why the judges went with Beterbiev. When you’re the guy who’s being backed up, you have to win the rounds and be more conclusive. That’s just the way it is. I’ve seen different opinions between people who watched it at home and people who were there. You think you got the best view when youāre at ringside. But ultimately some things you see ringside compared to what you see at home, and some things you wonāt catch ringside because the cameras pick things up you canāt see. You can end up judging the fight in its entirety, not round by round. That’s what usually happens. You better be able to deliver the bigger shots throughout. So I can see that way.
āI didn’t argue with the judges. I thought Bivol won, but it wasn’t a robbery. It was a close fight, and the judges gave it to the guy that I didn’t think they would give it to. I think that’s the problem nowadays in boxing. Once the decision goes the other way, then it’s a robbery. We’ve talked about this a million times before! If it’s a close fight, 12 rounds being nip and tuck, and someone loses by a wide margin, the fans scream corruption. Every round has its own merits without any influence or bias from what happened in the previous round or rounds. I know it makes no sense, and maybe the scoring needs to be changed.ā
Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 PredictionĀ
āI think it will be almost a mirror image to the first fight,ā Jones predicted. āI think they can both do better.Ā Ā I think Bivol needs to, at times, not take a big step back and try to pivot around the target, stay close to the body, and take the angle there when he throws a nice little one-two, which is his signature combination. Then, rather than throw the hooks from a straight right in front of his opponent, take that little pivot, the little step to the side, but stay close. Sometimes, being close is too safe. Whatever he does, he has natural power, but I mean that real power that’s going to knock you out. He will need to keep turning Beterbiev, so he canāt set his feet.
āI bet it will start a bit faster. Beterbiev knows he can hurt you. He knows he stops everyone else. Usually, it’s just a matter of time before he gets to you. He has patience, and he doesn’t care about losing a round. He doesn’t want to lose a round, but he doesn’t worry about it too much because it’s all building blocks for what happens by the end. He knows he’s hurting you, hitting you, tiring you, making you panic, you know? And when you start to slow down because he’s making you work so hard to stay away from him, once you start to slow down, the elbows open up the hands, drop a little bit, you make mistakes, and the target becomes a clearer line of sight to the target.
Artur Beterbievās key to victory
āHe will need to start a little bit faster,ā Jones added. āWhich has a bit of a danger attached to that tactic because he can tire out. If he does that, the second or third phase of attack needs to be a bit quicker, which again is a big risk if heās coming from the same angle. He will need more angles against Bivol and just a little bit of a faster start. I think each one reacts accordingly, and it makes it the same sort of fight.ā
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