Which fight was better: Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 1 or Naoya Inoue vs Junto Nakatani

In Beterbiev-Bivol I they mostly negated each other. High level but played out a bit like a sparring match.

Inoue-Nakatani wasn't as explosive as many were hoping. The last third was decent though, and more memorable than anything in Beterbiev-Bivol I.

Beterbiev-Bivol II was decent though still never really caught fire.

 

Timothy Bradley vs Devon Alexander

 

For me both Beterbiev and Bivol I & II were better fights with high level, with ebb & flow and both fighters evenly matched, and adapting multiple times.

Inoue / Nakatani Junto was too passive for too long and only got going when it was too late on the cards. There felt like more jeopardy in BvsB outside of round 10 when Inoue looked to be tired. But then he dominated 11 and put a stamp on things.

 

Both lacked the knockout and drama. They were enjoyable to watch, but without something spectacular happening, those mega fights going to the cards are always a letdown.

 

I loved the Beterbiev-Bivol fights, they felt so evenly matched even though as someone noted above they never really caught fire fully

I had Bivol winning both but could see the argument for Beterbiev in either fight. Inoue Nakatani, I never felt Inoue was in danger of losing

 

I would say both Bivol-Beterbiev fights were better than Inoue-Nakatani. In the latter, Inoue had pretty much swept all of the first eight by outboxing Nakatani in a low output affair; the fight only really caught alight after that as Nakatani showed some signs of life, only for Inoue to quash any comeback by hurting Nakatani and dominating the last two or three. IMO both Bivol-Beterbiev fights were more even and intriguing, and in both bouts I was truly unsure which way the scorecards would read.

 

Inoue / Nakatani had a higher ceiling. The last four rounds were quite compelling but there were eight rounds of really dull. That octet didn't feel like a high level chess match. It felt more like two men unwilling to commit.

The Bivol / Beterbiev fight did not have a lot of excitement but the whole bout was interesting from both strategic and ebb and flow points of view.

To my way of thinking the light heavyweights put on the better fight.

 

Should have included a poll mate - I'd say Inoue vs Nakatani, but I might be biased there because I flew halfway around the world to watch it live and it was by far the best boxing memory I have. I also think it was such a high-level chess match, huge for Japan, two truly amazing fighters in their prime, which is probably what sways it for me. Artur was already in slight decline despite still being an undoubted P4P name.

I also think Bivol deserved to win and didn't get the nod. I had him winning the first by 1 round, whereas Inoue was the deserved winner vs Nakatani, so it didn't have that cloud hanging over it. Both unbelievable fights I've watched back multiple times, though. As good as it gets.

 

This once it got started it got good Bivol Beterbiev was consistently ok

 

Inoue vs Nakatani, easily. Bivol vs Beterbiev from what I remember never stopped being a chess match, as intriguing as it was. The second fight was a lot more action-packed. Inoue vs Nakatani started out as a cagey chess match and gradually evolved into a fantastic scrap.

 

Bivol vs beterbiev was super exciting. You could see how they were toeing the line of danger all the time.
I thought that fight was super sharp and had that danger of turning every moment. To me that was constant suspense.

I think i have to watch it back.

 

i was disappointed with all 3 fights. i like tactical boxing as much as the next guy, buy i want to watch that in the active pursuit of hurting your opponent. be as tactical as you want as you go to hurt your opponent. dont wait for each other to make a mistake, force a mistake. its barely tolerable when 1 guy is fighting that way, it gets unwatchable when they both fight that way.
when they both fight their heart out to win, instead of fighting to not lose, those are the fights that get replayed across generations. not saying these 3 fights were that bad, just pointing out the perspective through which i watched them. i want drama at the highest skill levels. i want clear separation.

 

I watched them both back a few weeks back and you have it spot on - constant suspense for me and the feeling that either man could put his stamp on things at any moment / any mistake would be costly. Super-absorning high-level encounters between tow elite fighters

 

I'm going with Inoue-Junto. Bivol vs Beterbiev was kind of one paced throughout. Plus, the atmosphere was a million times better and that makes a ton of difference.

I was more impressed with the level of skill in Inoue vs Nakatani, especially Inoue in terms of how he was able to nullify a lot of what Junto was doing early and stay a half step ahead of him. I kind of expected that kind of start, to be honest, so I wasn't surprised or disappointed.

With a final third that was a fun to watch as anything I've seen this year, Inoue-Nak quite clearly takes this, imo.