Dmitry Bivol is heading into his own high-stakes rematch just like Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury.
Bivol last fought in October when he took a shot at greatness in an undisputed light heavyweight clash with fellow divisional rival Artur Beterbiev. Both men were unbeaten going into the fight and Bivol had previously claimed the scalps of the likes of undisputed super middleweight champion Saul ‘Canelo ‘ Alvarez.
However, after a close 12-round fight in Saudi Arabia, he came out on the wrong side of a decision loss. He started well but failed to truly impose himself and Beterbiev’s aggression is why he was fancied by the judges in the later rounds.
The rematch takes place in February at the top of a huge card that also features the likes of Zhilei Zhang versus Agit Kabayel and Daniel Dubois defending his IBF strap against Joseph Parker.
Ahead of that on December 21, Fury and Usyk battle it out for three of the four world heavyweight titles. They initially met in May in what was the first undisputed clash in the division since the days of Lennox Lewis. Though Fury had success in the middle rounds and looked to be on his way to victory, Usyk imposed himself and hurt the Brit in the ninth, helping him take a close split decision on the cards.
Speaking about the rematch with the media, Bivol sided with the Ukrainian southpaw to win again but admitted it was a tough one to call.
“I like this fight. I think Usyk you know but we never know what we should expect from Tyson Fury. It’s an interesting fight.”
Fury is of course confident of winning this return fight and has said that, should he do so, he will give Usyk a trilogy to truly determine the best heavyweight of a generation.
