[Boxing]: Bivol vs Beterbiev rematch Feb 22

[Baofeng]

Final press conference and face-off,



Beterbiev : You give me opponents and I beat them right? Referring to Eddie Hearn calling him a friend. Lol.

Beterbiev though is a funny man, and he seems to be relax and just enjoying the press conference. But come Feb 22, he will be a killer in the ring and so far he is the slight favorite here.

[robelneo]

Beterbiev though is a funny man, and he seems to be relax and just enjoying the press conference. But come Feb 22, he will be a killer in the ring and so far he is the slight favorite here.

This is one of the traits of a confident man who believes in himself 100%. They are calm; they are not provocative for them; they need not be too provocative and angry. Beterbieve has been like this ever since; he is very deceptive before the fight, showing very calm, but when the fight commences, he is like a storm ready to take his opponents out.
I hope to see a different fight this time; many rematches just take off where they left off. Let's see what both fighters will show differently.

[pawel7777]

Looks like there are some last-minute changes to the fight card.
The scheduled co-main event for the IBF heavyweight title - Dubois Vs Parker gets replaced with Dubois Vs Bakole (No. 2 contender in WBO ranks). Apparently Parker pulled out due to some undisclosed health problems.

Another change is Josh Padley stepping in to replace Floyd Schofield, who also pulled out due to illness. Padley will face Shakur Stevenson for the WBA lightweight title.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/trentreinsmith/2025/02/20/beterbiev-vs-bivol-2-card-undergoes-two-title-fight-changes/

Edit: it looks like Forbes made a mistake in that article, and it's Dubois who pulled out, not Parker.

[Dave1]

Beterbiev though is a funny man, and he seems to be relax and just enjoying the press conference. But come Feb 22, he will be a killer in the ring and so far he is the slight favorite here.

This is one of the traits of a confident man who believes in himself 100%. They are calm; they are not provocative for them; they need not be too provocative and angry. Beterbieve has been like this ever since; he is very deceptive before the fight, showing very calm, but when the fight commences, he is like a storm ready to take his opponents out.
I hope to see a different fight this time; many rematches just take off where they left off. Let's see what both fighters will show differently.

Probably it's the language too, nevertheless, I do agree that he is very much confident in his abilities to beat Bivol again. On the other hand, Bivol was so serious and he is really taking this fight 100% for sure and mentally in the zone already.

And just like the majority here, we wanted to see a different outcome so that we will have a final trilogy fight.

Nevertheless, there are some who might think that Beterbiev's advantage of his power might take care of Bivol's volume punching.

[Yaunfitda]

Looks like there are some last-minute changes to the fight card.
The scheduled co-main event for the IBF heavyweight title - Dubois Vs Parker gets replaced with Dubois Vs Bakole (No. 2 contender in WBO ranks). Apparently Parker pulled out due to some undisclosed health problems.

Another change is Josh Padley stepping in to replace Floyd Schofield, who also pulled out due to illness. Padley will face Shakur Stevenson for the WBA lightweight title.

Source: https://www.forbes.com/sites/trentreinsmith/2025/02/20/beterbiev-vs-bivol-2-card-undergoes-two-title-fight-changes/

Edit: it looks like Forbes made a mistake in that article, and it's Dubois who pulled out, not Parker.

Yes, Dubois is out and Bakole is in, and it's good that Bakole is ready to travel to Saudi or at least he is fight to fight Parker. It's just odd that two fighters has pulled due to illness. I'm still looking at what those two had, the only news that I saw is that Schofield might have suffered food poisoning, but still this needs to be verified. While Dubois suddenly not feeling well, could it be the weather or food as well? We will see. Parker shouldn't take this fight light even if Bakole is just short listing and maybe he thinks that he is not that ready. This is one of a shot for Bakole and this what makes him very dangerous against Parker. And not just in IBF, but Bakole is rated in all divisions, top 4 to be exact. Not going to be a easy as a pie fight for Parker.

[bbc.reporter]

Final press conference and face-off,



Beterbiev : You give me opponents and I beat them right? Referring to Eddie Hearn calling him a friend. Lol.

Beterbiev though is a funny man, and he seems to be relax and just enjoying the press conference. But come Feb 22, he will be a killer in the ring and so far he is the slight favorite here.

He is very much relaxed because he has a tactic on how to knockout Bivol and put him on a stretcher for Bivol's coach to carry him outside of the ring. This is assuming that Bivol does not change his tactic and does not float like a butterfly because according to some arguments, boxing is not similar to movies and adopting to a new tactic would be difficult for Bivol.

However, this victory will certainly be very much similar to a movie for Beterbiev but this will he where BA Baracus has won the rematch herhehehe!

[bisdak40]

He is very much relaxed because he has a tactic on how to knockout Bivol and put him on a stretcher for Bivol's coach to carry him outside of the ring. This is assuming that Bivol does not change his tactic and does not float like a butterfly because according to some arguments, boxing is not similar to movies and adopting to a new tactic would be difficult for Bivol.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee , don't know how could Bivol execute the adjustments but for sure they need to alter what they have done in the first fight to have different result and the only thing i saw is that Bivol would need to brawl a bit but that would be too dangerous as he might be knockout in the process.

[cryptomaniac_xxx]

He is very much relaxed because he has a tactic on how to knockout Bivol and put him on a stretcher for Bivol's coach to carry him outside of the ring. This is assuming that Bivol does not change his tactic and does not float like a butterfly because according to some arguments, boxing is not similar to movies and adopting to a new tactic would be difficult for Bivol.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee , don't know how could Bivol execute the adjustments but for sure they need to alter what they have done in the first fight to have different result and the only thing i saw is that Bivol would need to brawl a bit but that would be too dangerous as he might be knockout in the process.

He should be light on his feet and then dance like Muhammad Ali, but not sure if that will be their strategy or if Bivol can sustain that style throughout the full twelve  rounds as this is what I'm seeing or at least maybe some of you might agree that this might go to the judges scorecard again.

He did brawl with Canelo before, but Canelo chooses to just be in the corner and the Bivol fighting at al cylinders. It's very different hear as Beterbiev also knows how to move away from the power punches. I'm still looking at the upper cut here as the main weapon of Beterbiev.

[Kemarit]

He is very much relaxed because he has a tactic on how to knockout Bivol and put him on a stretcher for Bivol's coach to carry him outside of the ring. This is assuming that Bivol does not change his tactic and does not float like a butterfly because according to some arguments, boxing is not similar to movies and adopting to a new tactic would be difficult for Bivol.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee , don't know how could Bivol execute the adjustments but for sure they need to alter what they have done in the first fight to have different result and the only thing i saw is that Bivol would need to brawl a bit but that would be too dangerous as he might be knockout in the process.

And that thing is that we haven't seen any boxer in recent memories that imitate that style of the great Ali even in the smaller weight class. It's either very hard to emulate that or simply not that effective because boxers might be very slow in their feet if they used this style.

In the final press conference though, Bivol promises that it will be a different Bivol that will show in the fight. His manager had agreed as well that Beterbiev might have stolen the championship rounds and so with this, I seeing the Bivol might finished strong in rounds 10-12 if the fight goes to distance. And try to steal that round from the judges eye, unlike the first fight when he faded.

[mammusu]

He is very much relaxed because he has a tactic on how to knockout Bivol and put him on a stretcher for Bivol's coach to carry him outside of the ring. This is assuming that Bivol does not change his tactic and does not float like a butterfly because according to some arguments, boxing is not similar to movies and adopting to a new tactic would be difficult for Bivol.

Float like a butterfly, sting like a bee , don't know how could Bivol execute the adjustments but for sure they need to alter what they have done in the first fight to have different result and the only thing i saw is that Bivol would need to brawl a bit but that would be too dangerous as he might be knockout in the process.

As a championship who owns and stakes 4 title belts at light heavyweight of course beterbiev has great confidence to be able to defend the title, in my opinion beterbiev here is a favourite and he knows the ability and fighting style of bivol will also not be much different when he lost the first fight previously, Floating like a butterfly and stinging like a bee is not impossible for both boxers to do in the fight, but despite the relaxed attitude shown by beterbiev at this time, of course rematches are always full of uncertainty and burden,  because if Bivol can make the right adjustments, keep his distance, and use his speed and movement, he has a chance to also destroy beterbiev.

[Baofeng]

Weigh-in,



Bivol - 174.1 lbs
Beterbiev - 175 lbs

So no issues with the weight as both make it. Beterbiev said that he hopes that this is better than the first fight. So maybe he is looking for a knockout win here and doesn't want this fight to go on the hands of the judges to score? And if he wins by a knockout then there is no question as who is the greatest light heavyweight of this generation.

I still consider this card great even without the Dubois vs Parker fight.

[AmoreJaz]

--
Bivol - 174.1 lbs
Beterbiev - 175 lbs

So no issues with the weight as both make it. Beterbiev said that he hopes that this is better than the first fight. So maybe he is looking for a knockout win here and doesn't want this fight to go on the hands of the judges to score? And if he wins by a knockout then there is no question as who is the greatest light heavyweight of this generation.

I still consider this card great even without the Dubois vs Parker fight.

Beterbiev is the slight favorite on this match but the odds are quite near. He may be the favorite here but I believe Bivol is already silent with his preparations. I don't think he will just go inside the ring without looking the angle that he needs to beat Beterbiev.



So if you fancy that the underdog will come out as winner here, the multipliers are quite high. You can check the odds in the winning method. Even Beterbiev winning by KO is already 3x here.

[TravelMug]

^^ Ah, it's really very difficult to choose from the odds right now. I mean very hard to pick which one is going to win. As even the ML is already very attractive, although as gamblers we are looking for bang for our bet.

So if we fancy the underdog and go for winning by decision in Bivol it's going to be huge. But we will see, I will make my pick before the fight itself and maybe talk to some of my friends and get their opinion on his big fight as they are also a fan of boxing.

[FinneysTrueVision]

Yes, Dubois is out and Bakole is in, and it's good that Bakole is ready to travel to Saudi or at least he is fight to fight Parker. It's just odd that two fighters has pulled due to illness. I'm still looking at what those two had, the only news that I saw is that Schofield might have suffered food poisoning, but still this needs to be verified. While Dubois suddenly not feeling well, could it be the weather or food as well? We will see. Parker shouldn't take this fight light even if Bakole is just short listing and maybe he thinks that he is not that ready. This is one of a shot for Bakole and this what makes him very dangerous against Parker. And not just in IBF, but Bakole is rated in all divisions, top 4 to be exact. Not going to be a easy as a pie fight for Parker.

Dubois vs. Parker was a fight that had the potential to steal the show. It’s a shame that Dubois pulled out, but Bakole is a very solid replacement because he is a dangerous fighter. Bakole's weight of 315 lbs will give him a huge advantage in size, but his cardio might not be the best with only a few days of preparation so he will try to get an early knockout.

Interestingly, earlier today Usyk said that he wants to rematch Dubois. Now that Dubois’ schedule is clear, we might see that fight soon and it will settle the controversy from their first fight.

[Jating]

Yes, Dubois is out and Bakole is in, and it's good that Bakole is ready to travel to Saudi or at least he is fight to fight Parker. It's just odd that two fighters has pulled due to illness. I'm still looking at what those two had, the only news that I saw is that Schofield might have suffered food poisoning, but still this needs to be verified. While Dubois suddenly not feeling well, could it be the weather or food as well? We will see. Parker shouldn't take this fight light even if Bakole is just short listing and maybe he thinks that he is not that ready. This is one of a shot for Bakole and this what makes him very dangerous against Parker. And not just in IBF, but Bakole is rated in all divisions, top 4 to be exact. Not going to be a easy as a pie fight for Parker.

Dubois vs. Parker was a fight that had the potential to steal the show. It’s a shame that Dubois pulled out, but Bakole is a very solid replacement because he is a dangerous fighter. Bakole's weight of 315 lbs will give him a huge advantage in size, but his cardio might not be the best with only a few days of preparation so he will try to get an early knockout.

Yes, we all expecting that it will be a great fight, there are even others say that Parker might win specially if the fight goes to distance. He is also a resilient fighter and his boxing IQ is underrated. Bakole is huge at 315 lbs, and obviously, Parker's tactic just like against Zhang is to get away from that bombs early and then make him tire for the rest of the fight.

Interestingly, earlier today Usyk said that he wants to rematch Dubois. Now that Dubois’ schedule is clear, we might see that fight soon and it will settle the controversy from their first fight.

Good, perhaps just one question mark in his resume that he wants to resume. Yes, it ended in a bit of controversy and it doesn't looks like a low blow to me. In any case, that's another unification fight in the horizon and for sure HE Turki want's to set that up. But I still want to see Parker giving Dubois a difficult fight and also if he can pass that test.

[robelneo]

Here is the judges scorecards.

114-114 116-112 115- 113 It's now even Bivol won the match via a majority decision. It's revenge for Bivol; he has a solid defense throughout the fight, sneaking a lot of punches on Beterbiev. Since its now 1-1, we will probably have a trilogy.
Bivol suffered a big cut in the final round, which could have put him in trouble if it happened in the early rounds, Bivol did a good assignment and made a lot of changes in this fight and he did it.

[FinneysTrueVision]

Another fight that was remarkably close and could have gone either way. One key difference was that Bivol didn’t fade in the late rounds, he was able to handle Beterbiev’s power and finished strong. Beterbiev also performed very well and landed some heavy shots that had Bivol going backwards most of the fight. As effective as Artur is, Bivol is just a better technician who was more active and more accurate, demonstrating that you can be technical and also a crowd pleaser, unlike Shakur Stevenson. A third fight seems like the most logical thing and I would expect that fight to be just as competitive.

[LogitechMouse]

Here is the judges scorecards.

114-114 116-112 115- 113 It's now even Bivol won the match via a majority decision. It's revenge for Bivol; he has a solid defense throughout the fight, sneaking a lot of punches on Beterbiev. Since its now 1-1, we will probably have a trilogy.
Bivol suffered a big cut in the final round, which could have put him in trouble if it happened in the early rounds, Bivol did a good assignment and made a lot of changes in this fight and he did it.

Had the opportunity to watch the whole fight, and I would say that those final 6 rounds are very crucial as Bivol got them all (at least on my scorecard) hence getting the victory and now the new Light Heavyweight champion.

I already felt that it will end in a majority decision just by basing on what happened in their first meeting. I mean it's still hard to score this fight as seen in the scorecards, and even one scored it as a draw. Trilogy will happen this year to see who really is the king of Light Heavyweight. Just by looking at the odds, many also expected that this will end up in a decision favoring Bivol and that's what happened. Now this win by Bivol isn't as controversial as when Beterbiev won because in the final 6 rounds, Bivol at least got the upper hand.

I really thought that Beterbiev will pull out and win again because in the first half of the fight, he's leading in terms of jabs and power punches thrown, but Bivol made some adjustments on the 2nd half of the fight, and most of all those rounds if not all.

Congratulations to Bivol. Now the score is tied 1-1.

[bbc.reporter]

Here is the judges scorecards.

114-114 116-112 115- 113 It's now even Bivol won the match via a majority decision. It's revenge for Bivol; he has a solid defense throughout the fight, sneaking a lot of punches on Beterbiev. Since its now 1-1, we will probably have a trilogy.
Bivol suffered a big cut in the final round, which could have put him in trouble if it happened in the early rounds, Bivol did a good assignment and made a lot of changes in this fight and he did it.

The fight was very much similar to the fight before, however, for this night the judges have decided to give the victory to Bivol hehehe. If it was given to Beterbiev it would also not be shocking. Beterbiev did not improve, Bivol did not improve, there was nothing.

Also, agreed that this will be a trilogy. However, if we witness another fight similar to this we have witnessed tonight, it will be very much boring, I reckon. David Benavidez might be a better next opponent for Bivol.

[cabron]

Here is the judges scorecards.

114-114 116-112 115- 113 It's now even Bivol won the match via a majority decision. It's revenge for Bivol; he has a solid defense throughout the fight, sneaking a lot of punches on Beterbiev. Since its now 1-1, we will probably have a trilogy.
Bivol suffered a big cut in the final round, which could have put him in trouble if it happened in the early rounds, Bivol did a good assignment and made a lot of changes in this fight and he did it.

The fight was very much similar to the fight before, however, for this night the judges have decided to give the victory to Bivol hehehe. If it was given to Beterbiev it would also not be shocking. Beterbiev did not improve, Bivol did not improve, there was nothing.

Also, agreed that this will be a trilogy. However, if we witness another fight similar to this we have witnessed tonight, it will be very much boring, I reckon. David Benavidez might be a better next opponent for Bivol.

However there wouldn't be a trilogy if its still Arthur who won this fight. So they are going to give the Saudis a good run for their money with the trilogy. But I wouldn't be surprise in the 3rd fight that its Arthur who'd win. He is that one charging in the fight and Bivol just keeps backing away.

I'd like to see the 3rd fight to be head to head because there is not much of an exchange in the middle that will make us sit on the edge.