Beterbiev: ‘He’s not alone at the top’ – but can he stay there after Buffalo 2?

Artur Beterbiev is 44 days removed from his rematch with Dmitry Bivol on February 22 in Riyadh.

Undisputed light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) looks to close the chapter in his rivalry with Bivola (23-1, 12 KOs) for a second time. They will do it in a way that they won’t be able to make the fans and his promoter feel sorry for them like they did 24/7.

No more mistakes

The February 22nd event will be shown live on DAZN PPV. Few of the undercard fights are certainly better than the main event.

Beterbiev’s 12-round majority decision over Bivola in their fight on October 12 last year was not decisive enough to satisfy the fans and allow him to move on to bigger and better things against more popular fighters.

As such, Arthur is stuck at it again, but this time he’s expected to attack Buffalo mercilessly, chasing him around to get the knockout. Beterbiev’s mistakes in the fight with Bivol brought him closer than he should have.

Bivol angered Beterbiev in the seventh round when he landed a four-punch combination. He was trying to do what he did against Arthur Canelo Alvarez. That awakened Beterbyev’s competitive spirit and the disrespect Bivol showed him, and he’s been after him ever since.

Can Bivol stand up and deliver?

When Arthur finally began to press Bivol non-stop, it was one-sided. Dmitri looked terrified and could not stand and fight. That was the interesting part. Biwall was less daring than some of Betterby’s recent opponents, such as Anthony Yarde and Callum Smith.

Both men came to fight and tried to knock out Beterbiev. We didn’t see that from Buffalo, who fought fearfully throughout the second half and made the fight boring to watch. It was identical to how Dmitri fought in the match against Lyndon Arthur after he injured him in the championship rounds. Buffalo didn’t want to take part in the fight against Arthur after he got his hair cut.

Betterby’s mistakes

• It starts slow: He didn’t start attacking until the sixth round, by which time Bivol had been successful in many of the first five rounds. Some believe he did enough to beat all five before Beterbiev started to warm to him.
• Giving Buffalo too much respect: Arthur looked worried about being hit by Buffalo’s fast combinations in the first five rounds.

“There is a saying. ‘It’s cold and lonely at the top.’ I’m not on top. I walk the earth. I’m not alone,” Artur Beterbiev told DAZN Boking. “All my fans with me.” Close and native people.”

Rain or snow the champion is 𝗥𝗘𝗔𝗗𝗮 💪#BetterbievBivol2 | #RiadhSeason | February 22, live on DAZN | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/ger97OJdgi

— DAZN boxing (@DAZNBoking) January 9, 2025