Dmitry Bivol exacted his revenge over Artur Beterbiev with a scintillating performance in their undisputed rematch.
The rivals clashed last autumn with Beterbiev edging a controversial decision. And after he doused Bivol’s fast start, the champion appeared on course for a repeat performance. But Bivol roared back in the latter stages of the fight to run out a deserved winner.
One judge scored the fight a draw while the other two rightly scored it 116-112 and 115-113 to Bivol. “I’m so happy,” said Bivol. “I went through a lot the last few years. I lost and I felt a little bit easier, I didn’t have as much pressure like last time. I just wanted to work from the first round until the end of the 12th. I did enough.
“I was better, I was pushing myself more, I was more confident, I was lighter, I was just wanted to win so much today. I just told myself he could start from the beginning to destroy me and disturb me, it was hard to keep him distanced over the first four rounds. I was tired but he was tired also. I had to punch more.”
Bivol made the faster start as he looked to exorcise the ghosts of last October. Beterbiev began to answer back in the second round, but it was still Bivol who landed the better shots, cracking the champion’s chin with a perfect right hand. Bivol had promised simply to “do more” in the sequel and he was delivering in spades.
The challenger threw punches in bunches in the face of the menacing march of Beterbiev who landed an occasional reminder of his power throughout the third session. Beterbiev leapt off his stool for the start of the fourth round and began to smother Bivol’s threat with a much-increased work rate.
And the champion’s relentless pressure began to pay off in the fifth round as he repeatedly forced Bivol back to the ropes. The Russian’s movement had slowed considerably by the halfway point as Beterbiev sensed a swing in momentum.
Bivol rediscovered his rhythm in the eighth round as he looked to finish stronger than he did in the first meeting. The former champion continued to turn the tide in the ninth as he stood his ground and exchanged.
Beterbiev’s output was dropping as the fight entered its latter stages while Bivol’s movement was keeping him out of trouble. Defence was largely abandoned as the penultimate round came to a close before Beterbiev threw everything into the final round – only to be denied by the judges.
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