Trainer Jose Benavidez Sr. believes that Dmitry Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) is capable of defeating the current undisputed light heavyweight champion, fellow Russian Artur Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs), for their rematch scheduled for February 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
David Benavidez’s father, another of those involved in the outcome of this rivalry as a potential challenger, said that the former WBA champion at 175 pounds, won the first fight against Beterbiev “by one point” in their original fight, held on October 12, 2024, although the judges considered that he lost for the first time a fight, against Beterbiev, who also for the first time in his career did not finish the fight with a knockout
That’s why Benavidez believes that Bivol will win again in the rematch, as he considers that being a younger fighter, he is also “faster” and that his “mobility” was key to beat Beterbiev
However, he omitted that Bivol was very timid when it came to seeking combat from the sixth round onwards and dedicated himself to running around the ring, fleeing from Beterbiev. With this analysis, many experts pointed out that the victory went to Bivol, when the second half corresponded to the work of Beterbiev to take control of the fight, thanks to constant pressure, which ended up taking the fight away from his rival.
This is how Benavidez Sr. sees the rematch between Bivol and Beterbiev
“I think it will be another close fight. We’ve seen that both have done their best. Both styles work well and I think in the first fight Bivol won. In this fight, Bivol can win again,” said Jose Benavidez Sr. in an interview with Sean Zittel about what he expects from the rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol on February 22.
“It’s a little faster, it has more movement,” he said of Bivol
Beterbiev hits hard and is probably waiting for that hard punch. Hopefully Bivol won’t stand in front of him and take a hard punch. So I think it will be the same fight
He reiterated: “I think Bivol won by a point. It was a very close fight. For me, it could have been a draw, but they gave the victory to Beterbiev. I’m not a judge, but I think he [Bivol] did enough to win that fight”.
However, Benavidez‘s analysis could be influenced by his own situation, as if Bivol wins, it would open up an opportunity for his son, David Benavidez, to aspire for an undisputed light heavyweight title fight, as against Beterbiev, the size difference is considerably greater
While the volume that Benavidez relies on to win his fights puts him at risk of being hit by Artur. In addition, Beterbiev is famous for his body attack and has exploited Benavidez’s great weakness in that area, as he does not handle body shots well, one of Beterbiev’s specialties
So, if Beterbiev is victorious on February 22, Benavidez will have to seriously think about whether he challenges the current champion or decides to move up to cruiserweight to go after Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez.
But first, he must overcome the WBA ‘regular’ light heavyweight champion David Morrell on February 1. Morrel is harder hitting, younger and has better technical skills than the ‘Mexican Monster’ and a loss to Morrell would practically force him to look for the ‘Zurdo’ or lag among the contenders in the 175 pounds. Therefore, Benavidez Sr. is going all out for a Bivol victory, to open up the landscape for his son.
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