DMITRII BIVOL exacted the sweetest revenge on fierce rival Artur Beterbiev to become the new undisputed light heavyweight champion of the world.
Just four months on from their initial encounter at the Kingdom Arena, the two best light-heavyweights on the planet met for their rematch at the nearby Venue Riyadh Season.
Although it was another nip-and-tuck encounter, which again lacked any knockdowns at all, this was a different, harder fight, with a higher pace and more bursts of action.
And it was Bivol, who refused to complain about the decision after the first fight, who got the nod this time around. And, in an incredible twist of fate, he won this majority decision by the exact same scores as Beterbiev did in the first fight.
Judge Jean-Robert Laine scored it 114-114, even while Deon Dwarte (115-113) and Mike Fitzgerald (116-112) agreed that Bivol had done enough to claim all four 175lb belts.
“I’m just so happy,” Bivol said. “I lost and I felt it was a little bit easier maybe because I didn’t have pressure like I did before the last fight. I wanted to work from the first round until the end of the 12th.
“I was better. I was pushing myself more, I was more confident. I was lighter and I just wanted to win so much today.”
The first fight was the only time Beterbiev had gone the distance and this was also his fastest turnaround between two fights for a decade.
And they picked up where they left off in an even first round, with Beterbiev looking to get on the front foot with Bivol happy to box and move.
The challenger had spoken of needing ‘more moments’ in the rematch and he landed some very sharp right hands in the second round. Beterbiev was always there, stomping forward, employing a quicker and more action-packed start to their first fight.
It really caught fire in the third, with Beterbiev applying the pressure but Bivol always on hand to counter with threes and fours. But Beterbiev finished the round by pinning his compatriot against the ropes momentarily before crashing his trademark right hook . He got through with another as they traded right until the bell.
Beterbiev started the fourth round in a similar fashion and it seemed for the first time that Bivol might be struggling with the pace. Beterbiev had been implored by his head to keep his attacks ‘head, body, head, body’ and that is exactly what he did during the fourth.
It was a far harder fight, far earlier than it had been in the first one and it was Beterbiev who was enjoying the better of it. Even when the undisputed champion was landing on the gloves or elbows, it seemed to be having an affect while Bivol’s shots were doing little to slow down his opponent.
He walked straight through a good right hand from Bivol with a minute left of the fifth and got straight back to the attack against his back-peddling challenger. It was the sort of flurry that would have likely convinced the judges to give him an otherwise even round.
It was a similar story in the sixth, which was uneventful early on before both men planted their feet and began to unload in the final minute. They both landed, too, but just like in the other 17 rounds before it, there was no sign of either wilting.
Bivol had a good seventh after some uncertain moments in five and six and started to punch with yet more authority in the eighth too, with one particular right hook finding the target beautifully. Just when the fight seemed to be swinging in Beterbiev’s favour, Bivol came back with two good rounds exactly when he needed it.
The ninth was a good one for him, too, with Beterbiev perhaps feeling the pace after exerting so much energy early on in the fight. But he was still incredibly dangerous and landed a hard right hand late on in the 10th before Bivol responded with a barrage of his own before the bell.
Beterbiev was still holding centre ring with Bivol dancing laterally this way and that with his back often on the ropes but whenever he appeared to be on the retreat he would fire back with a combination.
Before the start of the 12th, Beterbiev’s corner team told their man he would need to win the round to stand any chance of winning the fight and he came out as such. Bivol did little more than move for the first half of the final three minutes, but then the pair came together and decided to trade it out.
They both finished the fight on their feet and came together in an embrace of sorts. There was no celebration from either side as they both knew it was the sort of fight that could go either way but Team Bivol exploded when the decision was announced.
“I’m ready for any challenge in the future,” Bivol said, when asked about a potential rubber match. “But I want a little rest because I had some injuries.”
