Artur Beterbiev was not happy to hear from Dmitri Bivol's promoter Eddie Hearn, commenting that he disagreed with the decision of their previous fight on October 12th. Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) looked annoyed, saying Hearn always has something he “disagrees with”.

Hearn had a matchup after unified three-belt light heavyweight champion Beterbiev defeated his fighter, WBA champion Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs), scuppering his plans for a coveted rematch with Canelo Alvarez. What are Bivol's chances if he loses again and gets another fight against Beterbiev?

He didn't want to fight when the going got tough last time and ran when things heated up for him. Although some fans felt Bivol should have won the first fight with Beterbiev, they clearly made up their minds after the first five rounds as the white flag of his submission went up in the sixth round. He had no fight and turned tail and ran from sixth. Hearn helped muddy the waters by constantly complaining about the decision, but Bivel clearly lost.

I know there was a lot of money at stake if Bivol won because of the fight against Canelo. If Bivol had won, do you honestly believe that Beterbiev would have been given an immediate rematch?

There is no way in the world. It would have been Canelo vs. Bivol 2. As for Beterbiev, he needs to fight the winner of the David Benavidez vs. David Morrell fight to get back into a title shot, as he's not as connected as Bivol.

Will Beterbiev spoil things?

Hearn hoped Bivol could grab Beterbiev's three titles and use the undisputed 175-lb championship as bait to lure Canelo into facing him. Beterbiev destroyed everything by relentlessly attacking the timid boxer Bival, chasing him around the ring for the final six rounds to win a 12-round majority decision by scores of 115-113, 116-112 and 114-114.

I agree with the 8-4 score for Beterbiev, but it was funny, if not predictable, that Hearn threw a fit afterwards, complaining that Bivel deserved the win. His was not. You can only win Bivol if the judges stop scoring the bout after six rounds. If this was a six-rounder, Bivol would have won easily.

Hearn's fighter, Bivol, gets another chance against Beterbiev in their rematch on February 22 in Riyadh. If Bivool can't win this fight, having a trilogy is a waste of time. If Bivole wins, he will have the title to tempt Canelo. If that fight doesn't happen, there's always the trilogy with Beterbiev that Bivol can fall back on.

If he loses on points, Hearn will probably scream bloody murder and complain that Bivel deserves to win again.

It will be interesting to see if Turk Al-Sheikh is sympathetic to Hearn's complaints and gives Bivel another unqualified third fight instead of giving Arthur a chance to the winner of David Beterbiev vs. David Morrell. US fans want to see some new blood in there with Beterbiev instead of the runner, Bivol, getting endless opportunities.

“Yes, he did a good job. We can say the hardest fight,” said Artur Beterbiev BoxNation When asked if Dimitri Bivol was the toughest fight of his career so far. “Eddie Hearn doesn't always agree with things,” Beterbiev said, responding to Bivol's promoter, Eddie Hearn, disagreeing with the decision for their previous fight on October 12th. “It's always something.

“I am honored to be main eventing this card. Great fight, they do. It was a good experience. Surprisingly, they did well for boxing,” Beterbiev said of the Saudis.

“It was a good fight; It was good for boxing fans,” Bivol said BoxNation About his previous fight against Beterbiev. “It was not my best fight and it was a good lesson for me. I learned a lot from this fight, and I need to improve myself. I love fighting in Riyadh because they make beautiful events, great events. Every fighter wants that, and I'm looking forward to coming back.

“Obviously, every camp is different, and we've made some changes, which I'll talk about after the fight. I am glad that I have this opportunity,” Bivol said.

Revenge on the mind…💭

🎥 @bivol_d | #BetterbievBivol2 | #Riyadh season | February 22, live on DAZN @turki_alalsikh pic.twitter.com/hPwhSjeEJd

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 17, 2025