Scorecards for Bivol vs Beterbiev

I scored it a draw but felt if anyone deserved it, it was Bivol.

No issues whatsoever with the decision.

 

I scored it a draw as follows:

1. Bivol
2. Bivol
3. Beterbiev
4. Beterbiev
5. Beterbiev
6. Beterbiev
7. Bivol
8. Bivol
9. Bivol
10. Beterbiev
11. Bivol
12. Beterbiev

I did have a couple of rounds that Beterbiev won as very close rounds that could have gone either way. I can see why 115-113 Bivol would be given. I also was a bit wary of my scoring as I favour Bivol's style more. I do think the 116-112 score was a bit wide

 

I had the exact same score with the exact same rounds.
116-112 Bivol

 

Bivol - Beterbiev 1: 114-114 DRAW
Bivol - Beterbiev 2: 116-112 BIVOL

 

116-112 for Bivol

 

PART 1/3
1st fight I scored 7-5 Beterbiev (BB) watching live. On replay with no sound I scored it 6-6. Still, gun to my head I would have leant toward BB. Anyways, just rewatched the rematch with same philosophy, no sound, each round reviewed twice, once at normal speed, once more slowed. Hard-to-tell combinations replayed multiple times. Let's go:

BETERBIEV BIVOL
1: 9 10
2: 9 10
3: 9 10 (close. Bivol cleaner work.)
4: 10 9
5: 10 9
6: 9 10 (close. Bivol cleaner work.)
7: 9 10
8: 9 10
9: 9 10
10: 10 9 (close, Bivol cleaner work, but BB more effective in his aggression here)
11: 9 10
12: 10 9 (extremely close contrary to popular opinion. A cut-causing punch by BB edges it for him personally)

FINAL SCORE: BIVOL 116 - 112 BETERBIEV


ROUND-BY-ROUND THOUGHTS:

1 BIVOL
First punch landed by Bivol; a flicked jab counter after ducking a BB probing jab. Immediately after, Bivol lands 2 sharp flicked jabs after ducking BB jab again. Half way through the first minute BB lands his first punch, jab to the body which is countered simultaneously by a Bivol jab to the head. Again, Bivol ducks under a BB probing jab and lands a sharp jab of his own to BB face. Both fighters holding center early. Short right counter by Bivol over BB jab coming in. 2 more jabs landed by Bivol as the 1st minute ends, 1 particularly nice one catching BB coming in to the body, halting his advance. Solid right hand to the body by BB countered with a jab to the head by Bivol, but BB follows it up with a double-jab upstairs downstairs combo, pushing Bivol back. BB walks forward throwing a few, but all shots blocked. Bivol closes minute 2 with a sharp jab counter. Bivol pushes BB off him before he can work up close and sneaks in 1-2 combo through BB guard. Beautiful left hook around BB's guard by Bivol. BB lands a decent right to Bivol's side but Bivol lands a few of his own crips jabs to BB's head. In this round, none of BB's punches while walking forward land. To BB's credit, his tightly tucked chin makes his head snap back less, but clean shots still landed by Bivol. Clear Bivol round.

2 BIVOL
Couple of clean jabs landed by Bivol. Snaps BB's head back before moving out of range of a BB right hand. BB clips the back side of Bivol's head with a sneaky right hand over a jab. Bivol again lands a few flicking jabs before BB lands a right to the side as Bivol spins out and away from ropes. A well-timed jab punctuates an ineffective 1-2-3 combo by Bivol. Bivol lands a sneaky jab through BB's guard, almost from a square-southpaw hybrid stance. Bivol occupies BB's guard with a probing lead hand, not allowing BB to set with an L-step as is his habit after getting hit. BB lands a jab through Bivol's guard, but good lateral movement by Bivol as BB misses the next 5 punches, including a right hand over the top of Bivol's guard. Bivol short left hook after a missed right hand as BB comes in, followed by a snappy right hand to BB's body. Bivol then split's BB's jab with his own, halting BB's advance and forcing him to cover up. Twice Bivol counter's BB's jab with his own successfully. BB feints then lands his own jab. Generally lead hand distance management by Bivol before he counters BB's jab with a sharp, accurate right, the best punch of the fight so far, before jabbing to BB's body and moving away. Bivol blocking every shot before BB lands a solid jab through Bivol's southpaw guard. Bivol moves away, resets, and lands a double-jab counter clean, before punctuating his next generally inaccurate combo with a right hand around the side of BB's head. BB touches the sides of Bivol's body, not landing cleanly against Bivol's elbows. Bivol scores a jab. Again Bivol ducks and counters a BB jab with his own successfully. BB lands a jab on the inside of a Bivol right hand while pulling back. Bivol jabs to BB body and pulls away from the incoming BB jab. Bivol times a snappy jab on BB as he attempts to come in before moving laterally and landing a clean left hand from a square stance. Clear Bivol round. Some very clean work.

3 BIVOL (close)
For about a minute Beterbiev walks toward Bivol, throwing countless punches in typical BB fashion. Bivol on the retreat, but only about 2 or 3 set-up jabs to the body land. Aggression, yes, but not much of it effective. Bivol then lands a sharp right to BB's body underneath his elbows in between. Short right landed by Bivol as BB pulls away from a missed jab to Bivol's body. Good jab landed by BB as he walks forward, before Bivol misses a 4 punch combo. A looping BB right hand grazes Bivol's forehead as he rolls with and away from the punch. A sequence of BB's punches blocked by Bivol as Bivol refuses to set long enough for BB to work Bivol's body against the ropes. Flashy 4 punch combo by Bivol, only the initial jab of which lands. Bivol then lands a clean right hand through BB's guard, then a right hand to the side of BB's body, behind the elbow. BB's own right hand to the body half-blocked by Bivol's elbow. Some more probing punches against Bivol's gloves by BB, before both throw and miss a right at the same time. BB splits Bivol's jab with his own to the chest of Bivol. Bivol then snaps an accurate left hand from a square stance, before missing a 1-2-3 combo. Bivol then counters BB's jab with a 1-2-1 combo, with both 1's landing clean. Both block some punches before BB lands a solid straight right on the forehead of Bivol, through his guard. BB chases after Bivol for a bit, not landing anything. As they reset in the center, BB lands a good jab to the body. BB misses some punches and so does Bivol, before Bivol punctuates his missed combo with a 1-2 through BB's guard, landing clean. Both exchange landed jabs, with BB's obviously being harder. BB walks toward Bivol toward the ropes before catching him on the end of his jab as Bivol then moves away, blocking the rest of BB's punches. Great shovel hook by BB to the Bivol's midriff. Half-blocked right hand round the side of Bivol's guard as he moves away. Bivol finishes the round with a fast right to BB's body, and a right hand over BB's left followed by a left hook as he comes in. BB lands 2 short shots as well as Bivol moves back. BB's shots heavier but Bivol's cleaner and more accurate. BB catches Bivol with one more short jab as Bivol whiffs a left hook. Close, but I favor the cleanliness, clearness, and precision of Bivol's work here.

4 BETERBIEV
First minute BB picks up the pace, not landing at a high percentage, but certainly landing a few good body shots and outworking Bivol, who doesn't really throw much save for the odd lead hand flick. BB's pace forces Bivol to move as much as he's had to thus far in the fight. The next minute is the same, with BB outworking Bivol. Bivol blocks most shots to the head but BB lands several good shots to the body. No real response from Bivol. BB lands a beautifully timed, hard jab, splitting Bivol's own jab and thus preventing a right hand from coming in. BB keeps up the pace as Bivol generally misses, not having enough time to set himself and punch within the correct range. Snappy right to the body by Bivol, but that's about it so far this round from him worth noting. Some probing jabs from both before BB lands a good right hand over Bivol's jab behind the ear. Bivol lands one or two sharp punches in the final 10-15 seconds but a clear BB round. Not a very varied round so not a lot to say other than BB high output and outworked the retreating Bivol. Much more effective aggression this round also in comparison to those prior.

5 BETERBIEV
Some savvy lead hand work from Bivol to begin the round before BB lands a heavy, jolting right hand above Bivol's ear, really snapping his head sideways; set up with a lead uppercut in typical BB fashion. Good body work as BB presses the action and ups the pace again. Bivol visibly content with pacing himself here and recognizing he must remain tight and compact amidst BB pressure. No point in risking opening up when not able to set. Though most punches upstairs from BB are blocked, it is a necessity if he is to pull off good body work, which he continues to do so at a high pace. A mid-round drop in pace as Bivol finds time to force BB to reset with some good lead-hand work. BB ups the pace before Bivol catches him with a beautiful right hand, momentarily stopping BB. Some level-changing pressure from BB before landing a hard straight right through Bivol's guard, snapping his head back. Great work from BB to finish the round, landing a strong left hook to the body and some cuffing rights around the guard, punctuated with another right through the guard. Clear BB round.

 

PART 2/3

6 BIVOL (close)
Drop in BB pace immediately noticeable. Bivol works his lead hand as BB seems to land a right hand, but it may have stopped short of Bivol over his own left shoulder, but IDK. I'll say it landed anyway, but difficult to tell. Then, good right hand to side of Bivol by BB followed by a good short jab to the head. Good lead hand work by Bivol, offsetting a BB uppercut, perhaps intended to launch a combo off of. Then a good jab to the body by Bivol, right underneath the elbows. Some glove-touching from both, circling a bit before they reset in the center. Bivol controls BB's head and catches him with a short right as BB exits an attempted body attack. A half-decent jab landed by BB on Bivol's forehead amidst some more glove-touching from both. Very sharp jab from Bivol lands. Both fall short with a couple of jabs before a looping right from BB is blocked by Bivol. Nice 1-2-3-2 combo by Bivol, the jab and hook of which land. Bivol backs up and circles, with BB basically pounding Bivol's guard but not landing anything. Inexplicably, no body work from BB during this sequence, just (not effective) aggression. Short right hook around the guard lands on the inside for BB before a decent right hand, left hook to the body. Good straight right through Bivol's guard. As they come to the center again, Bivol lands a clean left hook, right hand on BB amidst a flashy (but not entirely accurate) flurry. Bivol counters BB's jab with a duck and his own jab, before again countering BB's jab with a short right hand, before rolling under BB's own right hand before BB catches him with a southpaw right hand as he attempts to exit. Bivol throws a right hand over BB's jab, with both landing, respectively; heavier hands from BB, but cleaner work by Bivol. Bivol lands clean all shots of a beautiful triple-jab, right hand to the body with with a slightly off-beat rhythm, BB not expecting it. BB lands a good right hand during an exchange before sneaking in 2 left hooks in the clinch as the round closes. Some good BB moments, both to the body and to the head, but overall cleaner and more consistent work by Bivol.

7 BIVOL
1st minute of the round both fighters land only jabs, with most of this taking place away from the ropes. BB lands a good jab to the head and then body, edging the round thus far. A definite decrease in output from BB, however. Bivol then has a good short spell of good lead hand work, some landed jabs, and good lateral movement to avoid some BB pressure. BB falls short with some shots before Bivol cleverly splits BB's jab with his own. Bivol lands a soft flicked jab on BB as he comes in, before shortly after splitting BB's jab with a landed double jab. BB blowing a bit, easing up on the pressure as Bivol parries and simultaneously counters a BB jab clean with his own. Bivol immediately then lands a jab to the body and head. Some time passes before Bivol lands a right hand to the body and left hook to the head as BB comes in without throwing, probably due to fatigue. They finish the round evenly as BB lands a jab amidst come-forward pressure. Bivol sneaks in his own jab after some circling and then a left-hook after a half-landed right hand as BB falls short with his own right hand, but the final punch landed is a strong jab by BB. A simple round to score for Bivol, with BB's work rate noticeably decreasing here.

8 BIVOL
Good jab to the body and counter jab to the head by Bivol to start the round off. Some missed punches by both before BB lands a right to Bivol's side as Bivol circles clockwise. Bivol lands a beautiful counter jab, right hand off the ropes before moving away anti-clockwise and then clockwise again as BB lands some shots on Bivol's gloves. BB wins a small jab exchange before moving forward, landing a jab to Bivol's body as Bivol then responds with his own jab to the body after moving back to center position. Bivol snaps BB's head with a jab but misses the following 2 punches. Both land weak jabs and Bivol pulls away from a BB right, before readjusting and landing a left hook around BB's guard, before keeping him on the end of a quick 1-2. Jab to the body and right hook from Bivol, who then uses his lead hand to reposition himself in the center and thus holds a good position for a while before landing a good right hand to BB's body. After some circling, Bivol lands a quick right-hook, left-hook. BB backs Bivol up with a strong right hand just about grazing Bivol's forehead before some more circling, and BB gets off a good double jab. Bivol responds with a sharp right to the body and then a clean left hook upstairs around the guard. BB replies with two similar jab-left hook combos, but they are not as clean, and are more to occupy Bivol than to damage. Some circling and Bivol lands a clean jab through BB's guard. Marked lack off forward pressure from BB in this moment. Bivol is moving laterally as opposed to backward. BB attempts a jab to the head then body but Bivol times his body jab with a jab to BB's head, though BB's body jab does still land, and Bivol lands another jab as BB pulls back. Bivol punctuates the exchange, however, with a sharp right hand to BB's body, underneath the elbows. Bivol counters BB coming in with a jab again and both fighters miss right hands over the top of one another before Bivol cuffs BB with a left hook around his guard. BB lands a final right hand on Bivol's guard and the round ends. Comfortable Bivol round.

9 BIVOL
BB starts off the round with some decent pressure, a couple of forehead grazing punches and a good right hook to the body. Bivol immediately follows with a good 1-2-3-2 combo. BB gets through a sneaky jab but misses the follow up right hand with Bivol retreating before Bivol sets and lands a clean right hand to the body and left hook to the head. Bivol immediately lands a snappy jab again but his right hand is blocked. Bivol jabs to BB body but falls just short with following 1-2. Solid right to the body by BB around Bivol's elbow. Jab to Bivol's guard before stabbing the body from BB, before landing one more jab on Bivol's head as he moves away to the side. Bivol attempts to counter BB's jab with a square stance left hand but just misses, barely landing on BB's chest. BB slips a Bivol jab and just about touches Bivol's forehead with his own jab as Bivol times him with a flicked jab. Bivol neatly rolls under a right hand and gets off a beautiful 1-1-2(body)-3-2 combo, only the initial jab of which fails to land. Bivol measures and touches BB with a jab in the center. Some circling with nothing landed from either before Bivol feints and catches BB with a jab as BB bites on the feint. They land jabs on each other but BB catches Bivol's eyebrow as Bivol attempts to pull away. Sharp shot. Bivol immediately responds with a right to the body under BB's elbow. Bivol fails to land with a 1-2-1-2 combo, but he neatly pulls back a mere inch from a BB right hand and throws a 1-2 which doesn't really land clean, before stepping back, ducking and countering a BB jab with a left hook around the guard, before then moving clockwise and popping a 1-2 from a square stance through BB's guard. Beautiful work. Some missed punches from both before BB walks forward, landing only on Bivol's guard until he sneaks in a slapping right hand underneath Bivol's left elbow, probably hitting the cup more than anything. BB walks forward, landing some half-grazing shots before landing a solid right to Bivol's side around the elbow and a straight right to Bivol's forehead as he moves away. Some decent BB moments, but cleaner work by Bivol, at points beautiful to watch.

10 BETERBIEV (close)
Championship rounds, let's go. Instant high tempo from BB in 1st minute combined with some clean body work and straights through Bivol's guard. Many punches on Bivol's guard, yes, but BB pressure upped and not giving Bivol much time to set and unload at all. Similar to spells in the 1st fight. In the 1st minute, a firm right to the body and a couple of body jabs landed by BB, one of which is followed by a touching left hook upstairs. Bivol lands a sharp right to the body in the center and then a jab as BB comes forward. BB lands a body jab as he walks forward and Bivol lands a jab as BB L-steps. BB slightly better work in this 1st minute. Bivol beautiful clean right hand counter over BB left hand as he comes in. BB lands a hard right to a circling Bivol's body. Clean and firm. Increased power due to Bivol circling in to the punch. Both block each other's punches as Bivol slips a right and spins away off the ropes. Good body jab and feint by BB to force Bivol backwards, so a good example of effective aggression. BB right hand just short and Bivol responds with a 1-2 combo, also just short. Some more good body jabs from BB, cutting Bivol's own head jab before Bivol responds with a clean 1-1-2(body)-3 combo as BB pulls back, only the second 1 of which fails to land. Bivol lands a jab before BB lands his own solid body jab. Both exchange some jabs but BB just about lands a right which Bivol rolls with, but it scores nonetheless. Some head movement and level change feints by BB as he pushes Bivol into the corner, keeping him on the end of a 1-2. BB doesn't cut the ring off well enough, however, and Bivol circles away clockwise. BB throws some blocked punches, but lands the final straight right. BB body jab. Bivol responds with a clean jab snapping BB's head. Hard BB right hand to Bivol's flank. BB lands 2 jabs in succession on Bivol before both miss some. BB lands another clean jab, snapping Bivol's head back. Bivol lands a 1-1-2(body) clean in response to another firm BB body jab. Round ends with both landing well timed jabs on each other and an ineffective flurry by Bivol. Some good moments from both but slightly better work from BB, and more intentional aggression as opposed to some previous rounds.

 

PART 3/3

11 BIVOL
BB body jab. Bivol lands a jab or two and shows good lead hand work before BB pressures him on to the ropes and lands a hard right to Bivol's flank. Bivol lands his own clean body jab and lands a jab to BB's head as he comes in off of a missed left hook. Bivol lands another 2 jabs clean on BB who attempts to come in but fails to get his shots off. BB lands his own head-body double jab combo. BB lands a partially blocked looping right over Bivol's lead hand, but Bivol immediately responds with a 2-1-2, all of which land, and which move BB back into the center. Bivol lands a right hook as BB exists a disadvantageous inside position. BB scores a solid jab through Bivol's guard but hesitates to follow up to the body as Bivol circles clockwise. BB pushes Bivol back with a body jab, lands some to Bivol's guard, then lands a good right to Bivol's side before throwing some more to Bivol's guard as Bivol keeps moving. Both exchange jabs, with Bivol's landing firmer and cleaner. Bivol backs up BB with a double jab, right to the body. A firm BB right to Bivol's side countered with a 3 and a 5 off the ropes, landing beautifully. BB walks forward and is tagged with a very clean and solid right hand by Bivol. 2 BB body jabs land followed by a missed 1-2-3 by Bivol. BB lands a nice body jab under Bivol's outstretched left hand. BB lands a snappy, firm right just over Bivol's ear and Bivol responds with a 2-1, landing the 1 clean. Bivol lands a jab, then BB does too. BB's is cleaner. BB misses a 5-2 but sneaks in a straight right through Bivol's guard. BB lands another firm jab on Bivol against the ropes. Bivol misses a right to the body but then tags BB coming in with a clean 1-2. Bivol again times BB coming in with a jab and shows grit by outworking BB on the inside before moving away. Both finish the round exchanging some near misses up close. Easy to score for Bivol.

12 BETERBIEV (extremely close! CUT!)
Final round. Great fight thus far. 1st minute BB really ups the tempo and probably gets ahead on activity alone. Not much lands as I catch a right hand to the body half-blocked, a short up jab on the inside and two slap, cuffing hooks landing as the only real punches BB lands out of tens of punches. Bivol snaps a clean jab counter to BB's own jab. Shortly after BB lands a sharp jab of his own through Bivol's guard. Bivol catches and counters a BB jab coming in with his own. BB lands a straight right downstairs followed by a short jab upstairs. Tempo lulls just momentarily as Bivol lands a body jab in the center. Clinch. BB body jab. Bivol scores a clean 1(body)-4(head), before catching BB coming in with a sharp jab. BB does, however, land a sharp right which cuts Bivol, so a great shot. Good right to body by BB. Bivol lands a jab in the middle of a 1-2 missed by BB, before landing another crisp jab on BB in response to a right hand by BB to his chest. Some rough exchanges from close by both, nothing landing. Bivol lands a great right to BB's body, before both land simultaneous slapping left hooks. Bivol ducks and counters a BB jab with a crisp left hook around the guard. Bivol half lands a 1-2 on BB coming in, and the referee breaks them up before one last exchange. Bivol lands another crisp 2-3 combo over a missed BB jab coming forward before BB lands a final firm southpaw right hand through Bivol's guard. Fight ends. As much as this round has generally been scored in favor of BB, it was very close. A close round which I will score for BB by virtue of a beautiful, short, cut-causing punch.

FINAL THOUGHTS: I think 116-112 Bivol is a good score, despite some close rounds, with most generous scenario for BB being Bivol gets it 115-113. The 114-114 card was atrocious as a result. All around the board I think BB fought similarly to 1st fight, and Bivol just upped everything by x2. Concentration, movement, punches, defence, willingness to exchange etc. I will say that fights like these generally show, without wanting to seem pretentious, who actually understands boxing, whether one has a discerning eye, whether one can tell if a punch lands without seeing it directly and so on. BB did A LOT of glove punching this time, you don't score coming forward without landing. Landed punches are a symptom of good aggression. There is nothing inherently good in just coming forward. Furthermore, many are inclined to score some BB shots landed as more impactful than they are simply because they presuppose every BB punch to be cannon-balls when this is not the case. It is equally as faulty to assume every punch thrown or landed by a bona fide power puncher is thrown with the same amount of power each time. Some are thrown to measure, some are thrown to just land, and some are thrown to damage. By the same token, there is nothing inherently bad or anti-boxing/fighting about going backwards. If fighter A is effectively aggressive, and fighter B moves back as a result then that is a different story, but it is incorrect to hold Bivol moving back against him when that would have been his game plan all along anyway (even saying he was moving back is a misnomer. Most of Bivol's movement was LATERAL!) For an 'ineffective puncher', Bivol seemed to win 9/10 exchanges, both in this and the 1st fight. The difference, I believe, is that in the 1st fight Bivol had no precedent to base his perception of how the judges may be scoring the fight on. This is just a feeling of mine not backed by evidence of course. I do truly believe, however, that Bivol could have done more of what he done in this fight in the 1st fight, but with no scoring precedent, he had to constantly weigh the risk-reward factor of exchanging or throwing more, and hence we saw a Bivol at times content with his work, moving around and not throwing anything for prolonged spells in the 1st fight. After the 1st fight's scoring, Bivol knew he had to do more, and so he did. The 1st fight was always going to be the one BB was most likely to win, simply because the 1st fight revealed tp Bivol what needs to be done and how the judges tend to score both fighters' respective bodies of work. By the same logic, I also believe that save for a puncher's chance, Bivol has basically got BB's number. Bivol's increased output and landed punches this time around are evidence of what I say, and, though I know punch stats are not the be all end all, it is absurd to claim Bivol ran when, throwing much less punches than BB, he landed much more. It takes a fighter with incredible skill and conditioning to avail himself of the few opportunities he has against a come-forward fighter to set himself and land with success. My final two thoughts are these: Bivol, by moving much more this time around, prevented the illusion of taking a lot of punches, with a lot of punches this time from BB outright missing. In the 1st fight, a slightly less mobile Bivol, at times lingering in one spot for too long allowed BB to get off difficult-to-tell shots which was to BB's advantage. Secondly, and finally, a note about BB's conditioning. The man is a supreme athlete, but he is not superman. He possesses heavy arms from the forearms down, and as such can get away with throwing 75% punches, if that, and still force his opponent back. This is not to demean BB's athleticism, but rather, I am placing it in context of BB's heavy hands and how this helps his endurance. Has BB thrown a single punch in either Bivol fights in a Canelo-esque, full swing manner? Nope. He doesn't need to. Probably though this will always be a fight scored close based on preconceived narratives which I will always have wider than most, similar to Duran-SRL, which some people to this day make a claim that SRL won, though I scored it 10-5 Duran. Two great fighters and two great fights.

 

I had it 114-114. I didn't think the fight was too tough to score in that each round was predicated upon how well Bivol handled Beterbiev's pressure. That being said, all three judges gave the seventh to Bivol so I may have scored that one poorly.

1. Bivol
2. Bivol
3. Beterbiev
4. Beterbiev
5. Beterbiev
6. Beterbiev
7. Beterbiev
8. Bivol
9. Bivol
10. Bivol
11. Bivol
12. Beterbiev

 

1. Bivol (close round)
2. Bivol
3. Bivol (close round)
4. Beterbiev
5. Beterbiev
6. Beterbiev
7. Bivol
8. Bivol
9. Bivol
10. Beterbiev
11. Bivol
12. Beterbiev
Total: 115-113 Bivol. Close fight but the right man won. Bivol didn't make the mistake of the first fight where he had too many rounds of inactivity. He upped his activity and aggression. When it seemed like the fight was going Beterbiev's way (rounds 4-6), Bivol came right back and won 3 straight. Rounds 7-9 IMO won him the fight. Same with Beterbiev winning rounds 10-12 won him the first fight.

 

Beterbiev Bivol
10 - 9

9 - 10

9 - 10 little slug at end but Bivol more output

10 - 9 AB very strong start and finish

10 - 9 AB strong finish again

9 - 10 Bivol more output. AB stronger finish

9 - 10 Bivol cleaner work

9 - 10 Bivol much better work than AB

9 - 10 Beterbiev flat footed

10 - 9 - Bivol output dropped. AB slightly better

9 - 10 Bivol getting better of exchanges

10 - 9 AB

115-113 to Bivol

 

115-113 Dmitry Bivol

 

114-114

Bivol got 1-2, 7-9 and 11 on my card. I did, however, have a difficult time scoring the 10th and 3rd so honestly the range of scores offered by the judges seemed pretty reasonable.

 

I will also add that unlike the first fight, I see no clear path to a Beterbiev win, even if I scored the first contest the exact same way. Draw or Bivol close (ish) were the only two reasonable outcomes this time around.

 

I had it a draw.

I felt that Beterbiev did a lot of a subtle work in there, and Bivol did a lot of shoeshining.