Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2 Preview & Picks
Artur Beterbiev is tipped to retain his undisputed light-heavyweight crown.
Beterbiev finished the first fight strong as Dimitry Bivol retreated behind a high guard, and he did it despite coming off the back of a knee injury.
We expect a healthier Beterbiev to be more aggressive here, earning the nod from the judges.
- Artur Beterbiev has a perfect 21-0 professional record
- Artur Beterbiev won the first meeting by majority decision
- Dmitry Bivol’s sole career defeat was by decision
- Dmitry Bivol has gone the distance in 10 of his last 11 fights
Head To Head
- Artur Beterbiev won by majority decision when the two men fought in October 2024
Artur Beterbiev Form
Artur Beterbiev is the undisputed light-heavyweight world champion with a professional record of 21-0 (20 KOs).
Beterbiev made his professional debut in June 2013, and within four years he became a world champion for the first time, stopping Enrico Kolling in the 12th to win the vacant IBF light-heavyweight title.
The 39-year-old Russian successfully defended the belt with a fourth-round stoppage of Callum Johnson and fifth-round knockout of Radivoje Kalajdzic.
He then added another title, knocking out Oleksandr Gvozdyk in the 10th round to claim the WBC world title in October 2019.
Beterbiev then successfully defended those two belts by stopping Adam Deines in the 10th and Marcus Browne in the ninth, before adding the WBO title with a second-round knockout of Joe Smith Jr.
From there he took on a couple of British contenders to retain his three light-heavyweight belts.
The Russian ace knocked out Anthony Yarde in the eighth round in January 2023, before taking out Callum Smith in the seventh round 12 months later.
That set up a huge clash with Dimitry Bivol for the undisputed light-heavyweight crown, and it was Beterbiev who left Riyadh with all of the belts thanks to a majority decision win.
Dmitry Bivol Form
Dmitry Bivol is a former WBA (Super) and IBO light-heavyweight champion with a professional record of 23-1 (12 KOs).
Bivol made his professional debut in November 2014 and took just over three years to become a world champion for the first time, knocking out Trent Broadhurst in the first round to win the WBA light-heavyweight title.
After several successful defences of that title he was upgraded to WBA (Super) champion status, and made a successful first defence as he beat Lenin Castillo by unanimous decision.
From there the 33-year-old Russian beat Craig Richards and Umar Salamov on points, before scoring the biggest win of his career in May 2022 when he beat the legendary Canelo Alvarez via unanimous decision.
Bivol backed that up with a points wins over Gilberto Ramirez and Lyndon Arthur, before knocking out Malik Zinad inside six rounds last June.
That set up a huge unification clash with fellow light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev four months later, but it proved to be a heart-breaking night for the Russian.
He fell to a majority decision defeat in Saudi Arabia, with many feeling he had been let down by the judges after the 12-round affair.