Two-time welterweight champion Shawn Porter believes there will be an emphatic knockout in the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
The light heavyweight superstars are scheduled to do battle once again on February 22 in Riyadh, just four months on from their thrilling first encounter.
It was Beterbiev who prevailed in their first meeting, defeating Bivol via majority decision to capture the undisputed championship at 175lbs.
Beterbiev made history by becoming the first fighter in boxing history to achieve undisputed light heavyweight status within the ‘four belt era’, although Bivol will be fixed on righting his wrongs from their first clash, which handed the 34-year-old his maiden career defeat.
Speaking on his own podcast The PorterWay, Porter predicted a devastating knockout victory for Beterbiev this time around, although he does admit he felt Bivol was victorious in the first showdown.
“I think Beterbiev is gonna knock out Bivol in this rematch. I think there were a lot of punches that were just swung and missed or hit gloves. A lot of it hit gloves.
“I felt that Bivol won the first fight, a lot of people didn’t agree with me and I’m like I know what I’m seeing, you know.
“A lot of stuff was missing, but here’s the thing, when you take that punch and you take the impact of that punch, that stuff don’t leave you, you got a rematch of 12-rounds going through that all over again.”
Victory for Bivol would set up an incredible trilogy contest, which could finally determine who is truly the greatest light heavyweight of this era and put to bed the intense rivalry between both fighters.
