Dmitry Bivol’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, feels that IBF/WBC/WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev’s 12-round majority decision win over WBA champ Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) was controversial on Saturday night in Riyadh. Hearn was a rematch because he didn’t see how Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) could have won 7-5 and 8-4 on two of the judges’ scorecards.
Hearn calls Bivol’s performance a “masterclass” and felt that he dominated Beterbiev throughout the 12-round contest. The judges felt differently, scoring it for Beterbiev, 114-114, 115-113, and 116-112. It comes down to this: Beterbiev wanted it more.
He was the more courageous of the two, and the judges awarded him bravery. If a fighter shrinks from doing something unpleasant during a fight, they wind up losing. That’s what happened to Bivol. He didn’t want to do the difficult thing, which was to stand and fight. The courage wasn’t there for Bivol, and now Hearn is trying to argue his way into a rematch.
Bivol Was On the Retreat
From where I watched the fight, it looked like Bivol was even with Beterbeiv 3-3 after six rounds but then caved in completely, losing the final six rounds by not holding his ground.
If this was a battlefield condition, what Bivol did was retreat under the superior firepower and courage of his adversary, Beterbiev. He allowed Beterbiev to take control of the battlefield and control the territory. Obviously, Hearn is biased in favor of his fighter, Bivol, but the judges saw what this writer saw. Bivol gave up territory in the battle and deserved to lose.
“There has to be a rematch because there’s always going to be controversy over that fight,” said Eddie Hearn during the post-fight press conference, upset about his fighter Dmitry Bivol losing to Artur Beterbiev.
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh will determine whether there will be a rematch, but Beterbiev doesn’t need to. He clearly won because he was in command of the ring from the six on, and he won at least three of the first half of the fight. If Bivol wanted the victory, he should have held his territory rather than moving constantly.
“What other fighter is there for Artur Beterbiev? The whole world will want to see that again,” said Hearn. “I’m sure there will be some that saw a Beterbiev victory, but everybody I know that knows boxing didn’t tell me that at ringside.”
Whoever Hearn was talking to at ringside might have been blowing smoke up his backside, telling him what he wanted to hear. Of course, they’re going to tell Hearn his fighter, Bivol lost, point blank, because they know that would get upset at hearing the truth.
“There’s a difference between boxing on the back foot and using angles, then countering and moving again,” said Hearn. “The way that Dmitry was moving, taking shots on his gloves, and then throwing the straight 1-2 and left hook to the body, it was an absolute masterclass.”
Beterbiev’s punches were hitting a lot more than gloves; Look at Bivol’s face after the fight. It was swollen up, and he looked like that loser. In contrast, Beterbiev’s face was fresh and unmarked, like he’d just finished a light run. The replays showed that Beterbiev’s punches were connecting to the head of Bivol, sending sweat flying. Moreover, if Beterbiev’s punches hit only Bivol’s gloves, he wouldn’t have been running the last six rounds.
“I’m not throwing Carl Morretti under the bus. He knew we won that fight,” said Hearn about his belief that Top Rank promoter Carl Moretti, who promotes Beterbiev, knows Bivol should have won. “I think he had it 7 to 5 for us.”
I find it hard to believe that Beterbiev’s promoter, Carl Moretti, would tell Hearn that Bivol should have won. Why would he do that unless he’s humoring Hearn?
“I’m not saying it’s a robbery of a decision, and he won 9-3. I don’t see how you can give Artur Beterbiev six rounds in that fight. I certainly don’t know how you can give him seven rounds in that fight,” said Hearn.
The judges and fans on social media saw Beterbiev win the fight. It’s done already. Hearn is going to have to live with it. Bivol lost and that means no Canelo Alvarez mega-payday, and he turns to the salt mines with the rest of the grunts to work his way back.
“Coming through eight, nine, he finished the fight well. Maybe the seventh round that Bivol pummeled him for two and a half minutes, and he finished very strong. He had a great 30 seconds in the round. Maybe that could be a swing round,” said Hearn.
