DMITRY BIVOL is looking to shut the lid on the emotions which had built up after he lost to Artur Beterbiev in October.
The two best light heavyweights in the world fought out a high class encounter for the undisputed title which went in Beterbiev’s favour by split decision. This Saturday night the two men will duke it out once again for the same title at the same Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
Bivol’s self-belief is evident and the former WBA champion clearly believes he can beat his biggest rival. But in a recent interview with Boxing News the 34-year-old had revealed his first career defeat had been “sitting” in his head. Today, BN, caught up with Bivol, 23-1 (12 KOs), and asked if he has used those emotions as motivation for the rematch.
“Motivation? When you did something and you know how to do it right but you did wrong and you want another chance to fix it – this is my motivation. I want to fix it because I know how to do it and I want to get another chance to become undisputed.
“I have different emotions. I just want to win this fight, I just want to close the subject. I want to get my belt and fix what I did before.”
Should Bivol triumph on Saturday there is every possibility that we may see a trilogy bout before the end of 2025. And while Bivol described wanting to close the “subject”, it may not necessarily mean closing the chapter on Beterbiev, 21-0 (20 KOs), and their battle to be the world’s number one 175lb fighter.
