Artur Beterbiev says he will look different in his February 22 rematch with Dmitry Bivol in Riyadh. Undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) is expected to put constant pressure on Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) to either fight, Or run away.

In the second half of the game on October 12, Bivol was greatly hurt by Beterbiev’s continuous shooting. Although Bivol was wearing gloves to block the punch, the impact of Beterbiev’s hard strike went through his gloves and hit him in the face, damaging him. When someone punches as hard as Beterbiev does, blocking doesn’t work.

no longer respected

Beterbiev now understands that the way he fought last time was wrong. In the first five rounds, he showed too much respect for Bivol and did not attack him mercilessly. Arthur changed his usual fighting style and allowed Bivol to win uncontested rounds that he would not have won if he had been pressured.

“The opponent is the same, but it’s a new fight and I need to prepare differently. You want to do different things,” Artur Beterbiev told George Groves Boxing Club YouTube channeldiscussing the Feb. 22 rematch with Dmitry Bivol.

“Together with my team we will know more details that I cannot tell you. I did enough to win, but I also want to do better,” Beterbiev said of October Said during the first game against Bivol on the 12th. “I don’t know. We’ll see, but my focus is the same,” Arthur said of the rematch.

“No, I don’t care about that,” Beterbiev said when asked if he was bothered by not being knocked down against Bivol.

𝘾𝙤𝙣𝙨𝙩𝙖𝙣𝙩𝙥𝙧𝙚𝙨𝙨𝙪𝙧𝙚🥶 @ABeterbiev #BetterbievBivol2 | #riadhseason | February 22, DAZN live broadcast | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/ezvdJhax8O

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 16, 2025

In the last fight on October 12 in Riyadh, the referee awarded Beterbiev the victory by majority decision in 12 rounds. There was a lot of resentment towards Bivol among his many fans and his promoter Eddie Hearn.

They felt that his punches in the first half were enough to win, but they ignored that he gave up the fight after five rounds, as if he was being chased by a dog. It’s interesting how fans form opinions based on what they initially see in the first few rounds and then disregard what happens in the second half. This is human nature.

Lazy people make snap judgments and then shut down their brains. Bivol lost the game in the second half because he didn’t stand up and fight. Fear gripped him, weakening his ability to fight Beterbiev.