Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol kick off 2025 with their highly-anticipated rematch.
The two men do battle once more when they fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on February 22, on a packed card that also includes Daniel Dubois defending his IBF heavyweight title against Joseph Parker, and Shakur Stevenson putting his WBC lightweight title on the line against Floyd Schofield.
Beterbiev and Bivol first met in October, looking to crown the first undisputed light heavyweight champion since Roy Jones Jr last held the honour nearly 25 years ago.
It was a tightly-fought contest played out over all 12 rounds, but in the end it was Beterbiev that walked away with all four titles after claiming a majority decision verdict on the scorecards.
Some onlookers disagreed with the decision, believing that Bivol had done enough and should have been the one getting their hand raised.
One man who knows full well about being light heavyweight world champion is Sergey Kovalev, who ruled the 175lb division for a number of years throughout the 2010s.
He has now given his take on the Beterbiev vs. Bivol rematch whilst speaking to Fight Hub TV, and feels that Bivol needs to get justice from the first encounter.
“I think the last fight Bivol had 7 rounds against 5 for Beterbiev. He will be more confident for the rematch. He’ll get the victory and then there will be a third fight. Trilogy coming up.”
While Kovalev thinks a trilogy could be on the horizon, an undefeated contender could be in line for a shot against the winner after he was ordered to be next.
