Artur Beterbiev says he will separate in his rematch against Dmitry Bivol on February 22 in Riyadh. Undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) is expected to put Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) under constant pressure, forcing him to fight or run.

In the latter half of their fight on October 12th, Bival took a lot of damage due to Beterbiev's continuous shots. Although Beevel had gloves on to block the punch, the impact of Beterbiev's hard shot penetrated his gloves and into his face, damaging them. Blocking doesn't work when someone punches as hard as Beterbiev.

No more respect

Beterbiev now realizes that he fought the wrong way last time. For the first five rounds, he showed Bivol too much respect without attacking relentlessly. Artur deviated from his usual fighting style, allowing Bival to win unopposed which he would not have won had he pressed the whole time.

“The opponent is the same, but this is a new fight, and I have to prepare differently. You want to separate everything,” said Artur Beterbiev at George Groves Boxing Club YouTube channelDiscussing his rematch with Dimitri Bivol on February 22nd

“With my team, we will learn more with some details that I cannot tell you. I did enough to win, but I want to do better,” Beterbiev said of his first fight against Bivel on October 12. “I don't know. We will see, but my focus is the same,” Artur said of the rematch.

“No, I don't worry about it,” Beterbiev said when asked if he was worried about not getting a knockout in his fight with Bivel.

Constant pressure 🥶 @betterbive #BetterbievBivol2 | #Riyadh season | February 22, live on DAZN @turki_alalsikh pic.twitter.com/ezvdJhax8O

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 16, 2025

The judges beat Beterbiev by a 12-round majority decision in their previous fight on October 12th in Riyadh. There was much bitterness from many of Bivol's fans and his promoter Eddie Hearn.

They felt that his boxing in the first half was enough to win, but they ignored that he quit the fight after five rounds and was running like a dog. It's interesting that fans form opinions based on what they initially see in the early rounds and then close their minds to what happens in the second half of the fight. It's human nature.

Lazy people make quick decisions and then turn their brains off. Bival lost the fight in the second half because he failed to stand and fight. Fear overcame him and ruled his ability to fight Beterbiev.