Former unified light heavyweight champion Sergey Kovalev has predicted the upcoming rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
The Russian superstars are set to clash for the second time on February 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Beterbiev will be making the first defence of his undisputed light heavyweight championship, which he captured by defeating Bivol via majority decision in their first clash last October.
The first fight wasn’t free of controversy with many viewers feeling Bivol should have been given the nod ahead of Beterbiev, although the highly technical 12-round clash was extremely cagey and could have gone either way at the conclusion.
Ahead of the rematch, Kovalev spoke to Fight Hub TV where he backed Bivol to prevail this time around, admitting he felt the 34-year-old also won the first fight.
“Interesting you know, I think the last fight Bivol got like seven rounds against five. He will be more confident for the rematch and will get a victory, and then there will be the third fight. It’s a great trilogy coming up.”
Should Bivol be victorious on February 22, a trilogy fight between the light heavyweight rivals could be one of the most lucrative bouts in the history of boxing. Fireworks are expected once again when the pair lock horns at the Kingdom Arena in one of the best fight cards that the sport has ever seen. Daniel Dubois defends his IBF heavyweight title against Joseph Parker in the chief supporting contest, with boxing fans also being treated to an intriguing WBC middleweight title showdown between Carlos Adames and Hamzah Sheeraz.
