Bivol admits that he must change his strategy to win the rematch

Dmitry Bivol says he understands he must try a different strategy to win a rematch with undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev in their fight in 60 days on February 22 in Riyadh.

Can Bivol change?

For Bivol to win the rematch, he must change his fighting style from being defensive to focusing on being aggressive and staying in the pocket. With his fragile chin, lack of power, age and reluctance to take hits, it is unlikely that Bivol can change. He is 34 years old and quite determined in his own way.

Former WBA 175-pound champion Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) doesn’t say it clearly, but he spent too much time running away from Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) after surprising him with a hard punch. in the seventh round.

Bivol, 34, showed no desire to stand his ground after that round, and the last five rounds were a long and bitter retreat. It was eye-opening to see Bivol give up and flee, abandoning the battle and thinking only of survival; He showed weakness and unwillingness to fight. Beterbiev took advantage of Bivol’s reluctance to fight.

I don’t know what can change in a rematch. When a fighter is afraid, as Bivol demonstrated, that doesn’t change in a rematch. That fear is still there. You get the same results in the rematch and the fans go home unhappy.

Turki Alalashikh should have faced Beterbiev with David Benavidez, Joshua Buatsi or David Morrell instead of setting up a rematch with Bivol. Dmitry should have had to earn his rematch by facing one or two of those fighters instead of having it given to him after his loss.

The scores were 116-112, 115-113 for Beterbiev and 114-114. Some boxing fans felt that 116-112 was too wide, but it reflected how Bivol could not stand and fight. He used a hit and run style, which showed that he was not willing to fight. No wonder Bivol’s punches lacked power because his mind was focused on the escape. In other words, Bivol was simply going to waste.

Sixty days to change

Dmitry’s fans believed he had done enough to deserve the victory, but it was obvious to everyone else that Beterbiev had dominated the last six rounds, scaring him. Beterbiev exposed Bivol for his lack of courage under fire. We had already seen Bivol look scared when Lyndon Arthur hurt him in the eighth round on December 23, 2023.

“I have another chance and (Turki Alalshikh) talked about this date the day after the fight. I wanted to have a rematch on this date. He asked me, he asked Beterbiev, who said yes, and since that day I have it in my head that I will have this opportunity again,” Dmitry Bivol told fight that he will have another chance to fight Artur Beterbiev.

“Of course I need to do something different and I know what I’ll add, I know what I’ll change a little bit.”

The rabbit and the wolf

Turki gave Bivol another chance, but it won’t help him unless he fights with more heart and stops being a timid rabbit like he was last time. Beterbiev was chasing him around the ring like a wolf for the last half of the fight, and it looked like Bivol had given up. I was just hoping to win an ugly decision.