Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol will do battle in a rematch for the undisputed light heavyweight championship on February 22, 2025. Beterbiev won the first fight between these two men in what was an incredibly tight bout. He will look to defend his undisputed title here, while Bivol will look to get even with Beterbiev to take that honor from him.
Here, we break down Beterbiev vs Bivol II before the two fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Below, you will find our keys to this fight for both men. You will also find our prediction for this fight as we have looked at this fight from all angles to determine where the value lies in the betting markets for this marquee matchup in the world of boxing.
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Artur Beterbiev
Artur Beterbiev goes into this rematch with Dmitry Bivol as the undisputed light heavyweight championship of the world. The Russian improved to 21-0 for his career with that victory, adding the WBA, IBO, and The Ring light heavyweight titles to his collection. Those making boxing betting picks will see that Beterbiev is a slight favorite in this championship rematch, following a closely contested win in his first matchup with Bivol.
This matchup presents an interesting contrast in styles between Beterbiev and Bivol. Beterbiev threw way more overall punches and power punches than Bivol did in their first meeting, landing a lower percentage of those punches. But his aggression paid off, as he was rewarded on the scorecards. It will be interesting to see if he benefits in a similar fashion in this fight if he is once again the more aggressive of the two men.
Dmitry Bivol
Dmitry Bivol lost by just a couple of rounds to Artur Beterbiev in their first undisputed light heavyweight title fight. Bivol was the more precise fighter in that matchup, landing 33.6% of his total punches compared to Beterbiev’s 20.1%. Bivol also landed half of his power punches in the fight, compared to just 29.4% for Beterbiev. But for Bivol to win this fight, he is going to have to be a little more aggressive to impress the judges.
The question for Bivol is how his approach will change in this fight if it changes at all. The hardest part of losing a close fight via decision is grappling with whether or not you should change the way you fight or keep things the same while sticking to who you are as a fighter. It will be fascinating to see how Bivol approaches that paradox.
Beterbiev vs Bivol II Prediction
Our best bet for Beterbiev vs Bivol II is for Bivol to win as a slight underdog. The first fight between these two was so close that it is hard to see anything but another tight matchup this time around. That should mean some value on the underdog, as Bivol’s superior punch accuracy should be important as we should see a trilogy between these fighters to resolve their series after Bivol ties things up at one fight apiece.
