Undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev and challenger Dmitry Bivol both weighed in successfully on Friday at the weigh-in for their DAZN PPV headliner this Saturday, February 22nd in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The former WBA champion Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) looked in great shape but still showed slight bruising under his left eye from the hard punches he received from Beterbiev in their previous fight on October 12th, four months ago.
During the face-off, Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) appeared bigger and had a determined look to him, like he’s ready to chase Bivol down to knock him out this time. Beterbiev was coming off knee surgery in their first fight, and didn’t start applying pressure until the midpoint.
Beterbiev dominated the last half of the fight, but many fans only remember the first part. They felt Bivol won because of his fast start.
Weigh-in Results
– Artur Beterbiev: 175
– Dmitry Bivol: 174.1
“I thought it was close but I gave a split decision to Bivol. I thought he boxed real well, but you can’t argue with a Beterbiev decision,” said Terence Crawford to DAZN Boxing when asked who he felt deserved to win the first fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol on October 12th last year in Riyadh.
“Both of them feel like they can make adjustments going into this second fight,” said Ade Oladipo. “Who do you think needs to make the most adjustments to get the W?”
“I think Bivol needs to make the most adjustments because later in the rounds, he was getting touched a little bit, even though he was punching a little bit more. I think he needs to do a little bit more to get the victory,” said Crawford.
Last Updated on 02/21/2025