Dmitry Bivol’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, says his Excellency Turki Alalshikh told him that the rematch with undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev “is on.” Hearn doesn’t say when the rematch will happen.
Beterbiev’s promoter, Bob Arums, says the rematch will happen in the next Riyadh Season in October 2025. Before then, Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) will defend his newly won undisputed 175-lb championship. Beterbiev’s IBF mandatory Michael Eifert may be his next opponent in early next year.
Hearn is still convinced that Bivol (23-1 12 KOs) deserved the win against Beterbiev on October 12th in Riyadh. He had him winning 8-4. The judges saw it for Beterbiev by a 12-round majority decision, with scores of 115-113, 116-112, and 114-114. Bivol used too much movement in the last half of the fight, especially in the championship rounds, and lost the contest.
Hearn needs to talk with Bivol before the rematch to let him know that he needs to fight more aggressively because he looked like he was running in rounds 8, 9, 10, 11, and 12. This came after Beterbiev hurt Bivol in round 7 and took the fight out of him.
“His Excellency has told us the rematch is on. So, we’ll wait for the final confirmation of that,” said Eddie Hearn to Fight Hub TV about the rematch between undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
Hearn left out the part about the rematch happening in October 2025, but that’s when it likely will. He’ll need to find an opponent to keep Bivol sharp before the rematch. Someone who can approximate Beterbiev’s style would be ideal.
Beterbiev’s trainer, John Scully, said Bivol’s decision to run in the last three rounds caused him to lose the fight because he gave away the crucial part of the fight. Scully points out that when one fighter finishes strong in the last three rounds, as Beterbiev did, they often win. Bivol was on the run and had no interest in fighting anymore. He was only trying not to get knocked out.
“You can’t not win the last three rounds and say, ‘I think I won.’ If I’m going to lose the last three rounds, and I’m basically running. If I’m avoiding contact, I wouldn’t feel like a winner,” said Beterbiev’s trainer, John Scully, to the One Round With George channel, talking about Dmitry Bivol failing to win the last three rounds against Artur Beterbiev due to his choosing to move rather than fight.
“Artur finished super strong. He had him on the run. If you’re a fighter, you don’t want to be the fighter with a face all bashed up and I’m constantly moving. There’s a reason you’re moving. You’re moving because the guy doesn’t hit hard.
“If you’re moving just to get out of the way, it’s hard to feel like a winner. I’d rather be the guy coming forward. You can’t say that Artur wasn’t trying to make the fight. He was in with a master boxer,” said Scully about Beterbiev fighting a technical boxer in Bivol.
“If he [Beterbiev] was in with a guy that was a tough opponent, but he was a banger, we’re going home in three rounds. His power did not leave him. If anybody boxes a guy that is that careful and that precision, you’re not going to look great. Look at all the punchers that fought him and weren’t able to do anything,” said Scully.
Bivol’s movement in the second half of the fight made it impossible for Beterbiev to look great because he was chasing him. It was interesting to see how Bivol changed his fighting style from performing against Canelo Alvarez, Gilberto Ramirez, Lyndon Arthur, and Malik Zinad. Bivol fought aggressively against those fighters, but he was a completely different fighter against Beterbiev.
