A different Artur Beterbiev will look for a knockout in his rematch with Dmitry Bivol, according to promoter Bob Arum.
In their undisputed light heavyweight world title fight in October, Beterbiev won by controversial majority decision.
But he will go straight to a Feb. 22 rematch with Bivol, putting all four major 175-pound world title belts on the line.
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Anthony Yarde may not have agreed with the score of 116 to 112 in the Beterbiev-Bivol match, but he agreed that Beterbiev deserved to win.
“When Beterbiev was offered a rematch, he never hesitated to accept it. And I assume Bivol is the same,” said Arum, founder and CEO of Top Rank. Sky Sports.
He continued: “There was a little controversy, it was a very close fight. I thought Beterbiev won that fight.” “So I think it will be a really good fight.
“I thought Beterbiev in the first fight was a little hesitant until the later rounds. I think it will be different in this fight.”
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Gary Logan provides a deeper look into how the judges scored the scores for Beterbiev vs. Bivol after their close fight
Bivol became the first professional opponent to go the distance with Beterbiev. However, it will motivate the champion for a rematch.
“The only way he won every fight he fought was by knockout and he didn't win that fight by knockout. So he obviously wanted to win the fight by knockout and he almost won the last two rounds.” Arum said.
Top Rank president Todd DuBoef is also convinced that Beterbiev will want to leave no doubt in this second fight.
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Bivol has insisted on a rematch against Beterbiev as his dream remains to be the undisputed champion
“He had no decision other than the last fight, and I think he does that every time,” Dubov said. Sky Sports.
“I felt like his leadership and dominance in the ring, putting the pressure on and making the fight happen, was a resounding win for him. And I felt like you could see Bivol's body language late in the fight as that pressure kept coming through.
“The question is, can Artur start that early? Can he start that in the first round?
“I think it started maybe more in three or four games, where it really started to kick in. But it started in the first round.
“I think if that fight had gone on for two more rounds, I don't think Bivol would have gotten out of the ring. Maybe he learned from that and we'll see.”