Bivol Admits He Must Change His Strategy To Win Rematch

Dmitry Bivol says he understands that he must try a different strategy to win the rematch with undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev in their fight in 60 days on February 22nd 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 get hit, it’s unlikely that Bivol can change. He’s 34, and he’s pretty set in his ways.

The former WBA 175-lb champion Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) doesn’t come right out and say it, but he spent too much time running from Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) after stunned him with a hard shot in the seventh round.

Bivol, 34, showed no desire to hold his ground after that round, and the final five rounds were one long, bitter retreat. It was eye-opening to see Bivol give up and go on the run, giving up the battle and thinking only of survival; he showed weakness and an 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 showed, 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 matched Beterbiev against David Benavidez, Joshua Buatsi, or David Morrell rather than setting up a rematch with Bivol. Dmitry should have had to earn the rematch by going through one or two of those fighters rather than it being given to him after his loss.

The scores were 116-112, 115-113 for Beterbiev, and 114-114. Some boxing fans felt 116-112 was too wide, but it reflected how Bivol could not stand and fight. He used a hit-and-dash style, which showed he wasn’t willing to fight. Not surprisingly, Bivol’s punches lacked power because his mind focused on the getaway. In other words, Bivol was just spoiling.

Sixty Days To Change

Dmitry’s fans believed that he’d done enough to deserve the win, but it was obvious to everybody else that Beterbiev had dominated the last six rounds, putting the scare in him. Beterbiev exposed Bivol for lacking courage under fire. We’d already seen Bivol look frightened when Lyndon Arthur hurt him in the eighth round on December 23, 2023.

“I have another chance and [Turki Alalshikh] told about this date the day after the fight. He wanted to make rematch on this date. He asked me, he asked Beterbiev who said yes, and since that day I have in my head that I will have this chance again,” said Dmitry Bivol to Fighthype about him getting another opportunity to fight Artur Beterbiev.

“Of course I need to do something different and I know what I will add, I know what I will 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. He was just hoping to win an ugly decision.