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Dmitry Bivol came well prepared to today’s press conference for his rematch with undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev for their rematch next month on February 22 in Riyadh.
Beterbiev’s threatening gaze
Former WBA 175-pound champion Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) had a humorous quote when the moderator asked him what his message was to Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs): “I’m not a postman. “I’m an athlete.” The line made everyone laugh except Beterbiev, who gave Bivol a look that said, “You’ll see.”
That look said it all. Bivol will be knocked out unless he runs like he did last time in his 12-round majority decision loss to Beterbiev on October 12. Bivol couldn’t cope with Beterbiev last time out after he started pressuring him in the sixth. In the sixth,
Bivol tried to stand his ground and staggered. From there, he abandoned ship and began a long retreat, shooting as he ran, holding on and showing no desire to fight. Bivol’s fans were disheartened, they believed that their hero had won, but they did not face the truth.
He had lost his nerve and courage when he needed them against Beterbiev. Bivol seemed to be being chased by an angry wolf in the forest. His eyes were wide with fear and he showed no heart. He was a classic example of a fighter who had lost his nerve and was only going to survive to avoid humiliation.
Bivol spoke empty words today at the press conference, talking about how “luck” has nothing to do with success. This is a common phase in Eastern Europe, but in this case the words were not convincing because he was not going to fight harder than the last time.
If he does, he will probably be knocked out because he lacks the courage, chin, and power to take on the hungry wolf, Beteriev.
Beterbiev won his previous fight by cores 115-113, 16-112, 114-114
The hunter returns
Dmitri Bivol: “This is a good opportunity for me. I know people like the first fight and they want to see the second fight. I want to do a second fight and I want to be the winner of this fight. What about the belts that I could see? Before I wanted these belts and nothing else. Today I don’t just want the belts, I want revenge. I want to fix what I did before. I want to win. It’s not just about belts,” Bivol said during today’s conference. press conference.
“I need to change enough to prove that I am better and I need to add more actions. We already changed a little with training camp. We added some trainer in our training camp and now I am working on myself. Of course, I want to be better. “I want to be perfect and I’m trying to be perfect.”
Arturo Beterbiev: “My goal now is to keep my belts and I will do everything I can to achieve that. He has a revenge if he wants to do that (get revenge). Much better to win. Enough to win. I don’t know. Maybe because he was lucky that night,” Beterbiev said of why Bivol saw the final bell in their previous fight on October 12.
Bivol: “I don’t believe too much in luck. I believe that luck will come to people who work hard, and I work at it and become lucky. Luck will not come without work. I don’t have any messages. I’m not the postman. I am an athlete. “I’ll go to the ring and we’ll talk action.”
Beterbiev: “Do you mean postman? No. I think that on February 22 we will see a good fight. My message is to be prepared. That’s all. Nothing else”.
