DMITRY Bivol handled defeat to Artur Beterbiev with class on Saturday evening, crediting the winner while offering minimal excuses. As usual, certain trigger words are thrown around freely within the boxing community whenever someone loses, albeit in a close and subjective encounter.
Speaking on The Boxing Show, former WBO super-featherweight world champion Barry Jones had his own opinions on what happened, the aftermath, and, most importantly, who did enough to win all four belts at light-heavyweight.
“I thought Bivol won by a couple of points, but I didn’t think it was a robbery either. The problem now, in close fights, there’s always a “robbery”. If a fight is two rounds or two points either way, unless a round is massively dominant, and you can clearly say there’s no chance he lost [seven] rounds then it is a robbery,” said Jones.
Styles make fights, and while the purists might’ve preferred the WBA champion’s backfoot movement and fast-handed flurries, Beterbiev’s work, even in close rounds, was not without merit.
Far more than just a come-forward terminator, the 39-year-old used his own footwork and jab to close the angles, trap a tiring Bivol late on and dish out some crunching power punches to catch the eye of the judges.
“There were a lot of close rounds,” added Jones. “It depends on what angle you’re watching. Whether you’re watching from home on TV, what you like, which is still a factor, unfortunately. And also, how much you put weight on aggression over workrate.”
