Artur Beterbiev says his team changed “some things” for their match against Dmitry Bivol on February 22. The changes made by light heavyweight champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KO) will likely include applying more pressure, and not allowing Bivol to escape when he moves around the ring.

Bivol (23-1, 12 knockouts) will not stand and exchange, as he will not last more than a few rounds against Beterbiev in the rematch in Riyadh. We saw that last time.

Adapt to victory

At one point in the fight, where Bivol stood his ground in the seventh round, Beterbiev hit him and he was injured. That was the first and last time Bivol tried to trade in a fight.

In the rematch, Bivol will use Shakur’s style Hit and run The method he used in the first fight with Beterbiev, but will likely include that Lots of decisiveness. When Peavol held his ground, he neutralized Artur’s attack and controlled it. It’s boring to watch Peafowl running and grabbing, but it’s his only path to victory.

Bivol is not built to handle a powerful force like Beterbiev and has no amateur background for this type of fighting. Bivol was a good amateur but not at the level of two-time Olympian Beterbiev.

However, Beterbiev is a smart fighter, and has fought several fighters in the past who used excessive grabbing to stop his attack. He will know what to do to deal with this tactic.

Tactical shift

“My team, we changed some different things, but we can’t tell you. In the second fight, we will see what happens there,” said Artur Beterbiev. Professional boxing fansin response to being told that Anthony Joshua has chosen Dmitry Bivol to beat him in a rematch on February 22.

“Mentally, you have to focus. Even if someone said it was a close fight, I felt like I won,” Beterbiev said of his previous encounter against Bivol on October 12 last year. “We need to change enough to win. “It didn’t surprise me, but he did a good job,” Artur said when asked if Dimitri did anything in the first fight that “surprised him.”

“I felt like I won the fight. I didn’t see it [Beterbiev’s power getting to Bivol]”.

☝️ @bivol_d 👑#betterbievbeful2 | February 22 | @DAZNBoxing pic.twitter.com/CzQMuZsCMf

— Match Room Boxing (@MatchroomBoxing) January 17, 2025

Beterbiev vs. Bivol face off for the second time in the historic event The Last Crescendo for the undisputed world championship 🔥🥊

Riyadh 📍
February 22 🗓️

Book your ticket now👇https://t.co/8aQHpjE9Un#BigTime#Riyadh Season pic.twitter.com/13ElUfG02F

– Turki Al-Sheikh (@Turki_alalshikh) January 16, 2025