Bivol Strategy In Rematch?

Whilst your love of the Beterbiev is well known, I think that's a bit harsh and reductionist on Bivol. Weaslely? Really? He wasn't throwing pittypat shots / running, he was boxing well, and forcing Artur to reset often in the 1st half of the fight with stiff jabs and solid backhands. Sounds like sour grapes given you were predicting that Artur would KO Bivol 'easily'

Bivol doesn't need to change a huge amount in the rematch IMO - why would he go to war with the stronger and harder punching fighter? That' is not high boxing IQ, Bivol needs to keep to his strengths, but work on letting his hands go more often rather than focussing on the 'perfect shot'. Bivols best moments in the fight were were he was nullifying Arturs offence by forcing him to reset; see round 9 - IMO Bivol's best of the fight. He needs more of that - not going to war, but efficient and intelligent pressure, forcing Artur more on the backfoot.

IMO a key moment in the 1st fight was in round 7, when Bivol got too greedy, over-extended his combination, and seemed to wake Artur up, and he clipped Bivol well in retaliation.

 

"IMO a key moment in the 1st fight was in round 7, when Bivol got too greedy, over-extended his combination, and seemed to wake Artur up, and he clipped Bivol well in retaliation."

I agree 100% and Bivol won't make this mistake again. With fair scoring Bivol by close but clear decision.

 

disagree. Bivol got caught precisely because he tried to go after Beterbiev.

We all know peak Beterbiev beats Bivol. I am a bigger Bivol fan and even i admit that.

That being said, Bivol fought just fine. He can't trade with the most powerful man consistently just to be "manly". He doesn't have that kind of power. He can't magically make himself into Bob Foster.

Bivol jabbed well, threw solid rights and good left hooks. And he moved. He can't trade consistently with even this level of Beterbiev.

I don't think he can change that much. Maybe throw some uppercuts vs an incoming Beterbiev? I don't think those would work too well considering Bivol is not a natural when it comes to uppercuts and further, lowering your hands can lead to a devastating counter.

Perhaps he can throw some more body shots? Usyk, in the amateurs, landed some great lefts on Beterbiev's body to force him backwards. But Bivol has never been a great body puncher and its too risky vs Beterbiev.

Bivol just needs to box perfectly. Throw enough hard rights and hard left hooks to make Beterbiev think about moving in. Bivol needs to stick and move. And he needs to up his energy in the championship rounds should the fight go past the 10th round.

Bivol does not have the offensive firepower to trade with this man so why would you want him to? Just to see him getting stopped?

Bivol needs the same strategy, just implemented slightly better and with a little more energy in the final 2 rounds.

 

He has got to up his output and I think dig to the body.

 

Fair points and if the same AB or near shows up, Bivol, if he fought the way you suggest, has a very good chance of winning. The thing is, AB was coming off a long layoff due to a knee injury. If that is not an issue and AB has a good camp and the knee is 100%, he may perform better.

 

This is a very poor post, which is hopefully 2/10 rage-bait.

The fight was very close, a draw actually seemed the most fair but you can make a case for either guy winning. Artur KO'd everyone he face and looked perplexed by Bivol because he wouldn't go away. I expect a similar fight this time with controversy on the cards.

 

I thought Bivol did everything he can and came up short. He moved a lot he threw plenty of punches and still by the end of the fight he was tiring and Beterbiev finished stronger winning 11 & 12. I don’t know if bivol is capable of improving upon the performance

the one thing he may have to do is sit down on his shots and take something out of beterbiev for later in the fight though that risks danger

 

Bivol needs to up his volume and incorporate different types of defense. He’s gotten so used to schooling everyone on the outside that he looked clueless when Beterbiev got in close. If he adds in some head movement, angles, and anticipates Beterbiev’s counters, he should a get a decision win. Beterbiev is only regressing at this point after all.

 

He moved too much in the early rounds. And he didn´t target the body enough.

 

Make it more as unmanly. Fight scared. Make it a boring fight. Keep moving and moving, and force the opponent to follow him. So train for the stamina for such. Don't give Bet the satisfaction of knocking him out. A repeat of the previous fight would only shorten Bivol's career. There would be no guarantee of him winning whether he would fight more aggressively or just the same, so don't give Bet that satisfaction anyway.

Don't become like the Spence to Bud or even the one Fury round to Usyk. He's not the champ anymore anyway so he should have the mentality that Bet would be the one to force the action and to wow the audience, not him. It happened to Pacquiao many times before, when he was not forcing the action much, then the judges gave the rounds to the (mostly boring-approach) opponents. If he would that way then very good, if not then he would come out less damaged to continue his career. Even some gave the rematch to Fury who fought more careful himself back then.

 

Been saying this for a while before the first fight took place but Bivol's best chance against Beterbiev is to take the fight to Beterbiev. Fight fire with fire by pushing Beterbiev back, put him in an uncomfortable spot and force the attack on him, similar to what Canelo did against GGG in their rematch. Of course that comes with a risk of being closer to Beterbiev's offense but if Bivol can maintain that tight high guard while moving forward while unleashing his combos he can fight more offensively without getting badly hurt in return, which can help him win more points on the judges scorecards.

If he fights with the same aggressive manner like he did against Zurdo, Arthur, or Zinad then he'll have a better chance at beating Beterbiev. The big question would be how well Beterbiev can adjust to it and if he still gets stronger as the fight goes on. This rematch can still go either way.

 

He tried everything he had and reverted to his natural "flight" response once the pressure got cranked up.

People always revert to type when the going gets tough.

I expect his strategy is to start strong and not let Beterbiev apply the pressure the same way he did last time.

For Beterbiev it is to immediately press the action and try and get a few heavy shots in as soon as possible to take away any braveness Bivol may have.

 

Thinking he should hold his ground more or that he should just be a bit more economical?

 

He unloaded with mean intentions and pushed Beterbiev back. Not his fault he is hardly a puncher.