Dmitrii Yurievich Bivol vs. Artur Asilbekovich Beterbiev & Jai Opetaia vs. Jack Massey RBR.

Because he didn't, I was being as generous as I possibly could to him and I still had it draw. With 2 very close rounds being toss ups, which I kind of gifted to Beterbiev.

 

I lost $1,000 but honestly, I cant argue with the scores.

Everyone will have their own preferences, I think Bivol did a lot of good work and had his share of impressive rounds, but overall, I do feel Artur was imposing himself a lot, and often took control near the end of what were otherwise close rounds.

Im good with a draw, and I wouldnt debate against a 7-5 Bivol win, but personally, I do feel AB should be the winner.

I get the sense that Bivol did well to survive, but it was a lot of just that, surviving.

Super competitive fight, and while perhaps a tad bit underwhelming, I feel both guys can be proud of their performance.

I think the main criticism for Artur would be he coasted too much. It seemed like whenever he went to 2nd gear, not only would he take control, but Bivol would be in survival mode for much of it.

I can understand conserving energy at 39 years old, but he wasnt looking very fatigued and I think he would have benefitted by having a higher sense of urgency in there.

For Bivol, Bivol made a few mistakes imo. Not tying Artur up more could have cost him the fight, instead of just letting AB tee off on him for a minute straight as he's in full retreat mode. Tying up AB would also give him the chance to lean on the 39 year old as much as possible, and do more to make ABs legs and back work if he could lean on his back more often. But at the minimum, tying him up would have erased dozens of shots from AB and helped to reset tempos.

The retreating I cant fault too much, you could tell ABs shots were crushingly powerful and Bivol has to do what he has to to survive.

I think he gets too excited when he lands a good shot and leaves himself open for tide turning counters, like we saw earlier in the fight.

I do feel that Bivol isnt quite as good as hes billed as. His athleticism, his technique, and his IQ are all very good, but they are not elite level, imo. But while nothing he does is elite, its his blend of having very good x,y and z that makes him so formidable, and I respect Bivols performance, it was a hell of a job to be able to go the distance with AB and make it as close and competitive as he did.

He showed a lot of toughness and a fair amount of IQ in this fight, and can hold his head high.

Could he win a rematch? Yes. Theres a lot he can improve on, and AB will be that much older. However, while AB didnt make as many mistakes in which he could improve, its hard for me to shake the notion that he wins the fight whenever he presses on the gas, and I dont see why that wouldnt be true in a rematch.

Congratulations to both fighters.
Another chapter etched into boxings history.