Comments Thread For: Rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol 'almost over the line' for February

[STREET CLEANER]

I prefer these measured matches to all out wars

all out wars are rare when it's two highly skilled guys

I do enjoy them but if they don't bring no drama they become forgettable or have no rewatch value.

[57Blues]

Sounds about right to me. This time it will different.

[PittyPat]

What's to head-scratch about? They both looked like they left a piece of themselves in that ring, which often means a stoppage could happen the next time around.

[SkinG209]

Personally, I had Bivol maybe squeaking out a win or obviously a draw but I’m not mad at the result. Regardless, I don’t really enjoy watching Bivol fight and the fact that Beterbiev is 40, I wish they would just pass on the rematch. I would rather see Beterbiev fight other competition like Benavidez or Canelo! He’s at the end of his career, let’s not waste any time. Dude is a beast!

[PRINCEKOOL]

I think the signs, that this fight is almost being scheduled for February of next year 'I believe this is ominous sign that Arthur Beterbiev, has been able to build consistent momentum from his last training camp'.

A quick turnaround rematch, also in my opinion 'Tactically is exactly what Arthur Beterbiev and his team should of aimed for. Because boxing sometimes is about timing, and consistency. Fighters sometimes need to catch and take opportunities at this most optimal time'.

The reason why I have specifically pointed this out 'Is because? Beterbiev's preparation for the first fight, was not entirely his best fight preparation. It was well documented that multiple training camps, were disrupted due to injuries he sustained. This would of definitively effected the periodization stages of his training camps, there would of been less consistency and momentum being built which? At elite level can effect a athlete on many levels of their game'.

Arthur Beterbiev was clearly in condition for the first fight, but in my opinion 'Beterbiev can execute a better more consistent fight preparation for the rematch'.

In the immediate aftermath of Arthur Beterbiev's victory vs Dimtri Bivol I 'Beterbiev during a interview stated that, he would soon be back in training. Building upon his conditioning and overall boxing game from the first fight'.

The first fight was a great fight, it was a competitive fight 'But it does seem like if you had to chose one fighter, that was competing within themselves. That fighter was Arthur Beterbiev'.

Dimtri Bivol from a pure technical skill for skill perspective, and even in terms of the resolve he displayed to survive Beterbiev's power 'Dimtri Bivol most likely executed his best ever boxing performance in the professional ranks'.

But in comparison, people that understand boxing and have watched both fighters careers 'Will know that Arthur Beterbiev fought good enough to get the win. But it was not his overall best boxing performance, because he did appear to be fighting within himself'.

Note: I personally don't believe that Arthur Beterbiev has unleashed all of his gears vs Dimtri Bivol I 'Maybe tactically Beterbeiv knew, that in order for him to win the first fight. It was not about destroying Bivol in his tracks. The fight was about being fundamentally solid, consistent and no dramatic fluctuations with his amplitude of intensity. Arthur Beterbiev just needed to be a constant in the fight'

The action of the rematch, may play out entirely different 'Once the fight reaches a certain stage. Where Arthur Beterbiev unleashes all of his gears, with the primary objective of destroying Dimtri Bivol'.

I expect the rematch to be extremely competitive, skill for skill both fighters will be very closely matched 'This was the type of action, I was anticipating for the first fight. But as the fight progressed, I thought there would be? A impeding sense of doom for Dimtri Bivol, as Arthur Beterbiev gradually increases his gears and intensity inflicting substantial damage and potentially forcing a stoppage'.

That outcome did not occur, but Arthur Beterbiev still won the fight 'Because he was skill for skill, the most consistent and solid fighter throughout the entirety of the Undisputed Championship title fight'.

To conclude: I am just theorizing that Arthur Beterbiev did not quite unleash all of his gears in the first fight vs Dimtri Bivol I 'And this may of been due to, the inconsistent fight preparations that he had during the build up to the first Undisputed Championship fight'.

The recent news that this rematch, is potentially being scheduled for February of next year 'In my opinion is a very ominous sign that Arthur Beterbiev has been able to build momentum from his last training camp, and accumulate that form moving into his second fight vs Dimtri Bivol II'.

Dimtri Bivol fought his best overall fight as a light heavyweight fighter 'Skill for skill, and in terms of the resolved he displayed'. Arthur Beterbiev in my opinion did not execute his best overall fight, but he still fought good enough to win'.

But right now as we speak? There are signs, that Arthur Beterbiev can improve on multiple metrics for this rematch 'And he may already currently at this time, be in superior position in his overall conditioning and state of being compared to the first fight preparations'.

The rematch is still a very close fight to call, but potentially if Beterbiev is able to unleash all of his gears that I don't believe happened in the first fight 'Then the rematch action, may appear more brutal. Dimtri Bivol is going to have to improve considerably on his first fight efforts in order to win' etc.

[hugh grant]

I only finished watching the fight last night. i saw the first 6 rounds weeks ago which i thought Bivol won most of them. Last night watching it i was expecting Beterbiev to win last 6 rounds or something? But no, i had Bivol doing better than Beterbiev in last 6 rounds too. I think it was a 8 rounds to 4 fight..
I got no horse in the race, but i expected the guy who won to have his hand raised.

[crimsonfalcon07]

For the rematch more linear movement & less lateral movement.

Bivol's Signature Soviet Step was barely there in fight 1

That's a terrible idea. You can move forward faster than you can retreat. Lateral movement is necessary against a big puncher because otherwise they can walk you down easily. That's like boxing 101; don't retreat in straight lines. The lateral movement was the main reason Beterbiev wasn't catching him with that signature overhand right. If you've ever done a film study on Beterbiev, you know that he lands that 100% of the time when the opponent retreats in a straight line. Linear movement is easy to read. Not to mention, Beterbiev came up in the Soviet system. If Bivol took this advice, he'd get stopped in 7.

He's also at a slight reach disadvantage vs Beterbiev, making the long guard less effective. Bivol, as the fighter on the back foot, needs a lot more volume, but Beterbiev did a great job neutralizing his ability to do that. I thought Bivol would have the ability to get the nod going into the fight, and thought he could have gotten it from different judges, but the simple fact is that Beterbiev has more paths to victory, and frankly, that's only going to be worse for Bivol now that he's not a champion and is the underdog challenger. He can only win on points, and if he opens up more to score more points, he risks getting hurt more than he did in the first fight. I think Beterbiev has to be an obvious favorite going into the rematch, absent injuries.

Personally, I would like to see him work angles way more and use positional defense to get some body work in. And he should target the chest and arms to get higher volume. If he can't figure out how to increase his offensive output, he'll have even less chance in the rematch. Beterbiev doesn't do nearly as much on the back foot, and Bivol really needs to be able to prove he can separate himself on a skill level from Beterbiev. But that's a tall order because I think Beterbiev is more skilled mid to close range, and Bivol doesn't have the length to fight on the outside as effectively. He's got the skill to take advantage of some of the mistakes Beterbiev makes, particularly his lunging hooks and crosses, and the technique (cross parry) to land the eye catching counter, but his power isn't good enough to really hurt Beterbiev. So, deck is stacked against him.

[JakeTheBoxer]

Beterbiev by another close decision probably.

Unles Beterbiev became old over the night, I can`t see Bivol doing any better than in the first fight.