They proved in their original bout that they are two modern day, pound-for-pound greats and on Saturday night Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol should again display why the world was so desperate to see this rematch and so quickly.
The duo headline the extraordinary Riyadh Season Last Crescendo card as both look to secure their legacy.
Beterbiev comes into the contest as the undisputed world light heavyweight champion after his majority decision victoy over his great rival Bivol in October. However, as always in close fights, many disagreed with the judges’s scoring, believing Bivol had taken the bout.
To signal how close it was, one judge even scored the contest a draw.
So, how will this rematch go, could we even see a rare draw, and what will the result mean for both’s future?
Ahead of this huge fight, the DAZN News boxing experts have been providing their fight predictions and opinions on these key questions.
Beterbiev vs Bivol prediction: Who wins? Chris Walker – senior boxing reporter If this fight was three months down the line, then I would be backing Artur Beterbiev to make it 2-0 without any hesitation.
Four months on from their first meeting, the champion is facing a quick turnaround on his aching body and that could slow him down in the fight’s second half, the place where he took over last time.
You may see Beterbiev start quicker this time around to combat that, but I just see Dmitry Bivol nicking enough rounds to set up a trilogy fight later this year.
Mark Lelinwalla – boxing analyst Bivol by split decision
When Beterbiev decided to walk Bivol down, he was able to win enough rounds to earn the majority decision.
In this rematch, I’m looking for Bivol to use his footwork, maintain distance with his jab and piece together enough combinations to sway at least two of the three judges.
His movement in the ring will be key to becoming the new undisputed light heavyweight world champion.
Derek Bilton – boxing feature writer It’s virtually impossible to call this with any degree of certainty and your view depends on whether you like the exceptional timing of Bivol or the relentless aggression of Beterbiev.
My hunch is Bivol fought the perfect fight last time while Beterbiev can be better with a build up that has not been hampered by knee issues.
Beterbiev on points in another high-level thriller.
Matt Astbury – boxing reporter I have watched the first fight twice now, and I am edging towards revenge for Dmitry Bivol on Saturday night.
Bivol did not do much wrong in the first fight, he was landing the cleaner punches, avoiding the majority of what Beterbiev threw at him, and he needs to do the same here.
The only area which he could exploit more is utilising his smooth ring movement more to frustrate Beterbiev, whose footwork is a slightly more one dimensional.
