WBC, IBF light heavyweight champion Artur Beteriev expects his countryman, Alexander Povetkin, to have a tough outing in the upcoming rematch with Dillian Whyte.
Last month at Matchroom's Fight Camp in Brentwood, Povetkin pulled off a major upset when knocked Whyte out cold in the fifth round of their heavyweight clash.
Heading in to that round, Povetkin had been down twice and he himself appeared to be on the verge of getting stopped - until he landed a vicious uppercut that put Whyte down and out.
The victory gave Povetkin the WBC's interim-title and he's near the top of the list for a world title shot against full champion Tyson Fury.
Whyte would soon exercise a rematch clause, with a second contest taking place on November 21.
Based on the outcome of the first fight, Beterbiev expects Whyte to be very motivated to secure his revenge.
And he fears Povetkin could be mentally distracted by the result of the first contest, due to the fact that he knocked out Whyte with one shot.
"It will be more difficult for Povetkin in a rematch. As one of the coaches said, if you beat a person, then it is even more difficult to achieve victory the second time around. Maybe somewhere inside in the subconscious there will be such a thought ..'Well, I already beat him, especially by knockout." A lot of boxers make this kind of mistake. And the loser is even better tuned in for the rematch, he is more motivated," Beterbiev told Vasiliy Konov.
Beterbiev is preparing for a planned mandatory defense against Adam Deines, which is scheduled to take place in Russia on a date in December.
