Artur Beterbiev v Dmitry Bivol: Prediction, Tips & Odds

Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol renew acquaintances on Saturday night when they top the bill for their undisputed light-heavyweight title rematch on a mouth-watering card in Riyadh.

Artur Beterbiev v Dmitry Bivol Tips

Artur Beterbiev to Win @ 4/5
Artur Beterbiev to Win by Decision/Technical Decision @ 13/5

Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol return for a second instalment of their rivalry on Saturday night, as they meet for the undisputed light-heavyweight titles in Saudi Arabia.

After a closely-contested first bout that left much of the boxing world split on the outcome, Beterbiev (4/5) would see his hand raised by majority decision, despite many observers scoring the fight for Bivol (1/1).

While the first meeting was close, I did feel Beterbiev did enough to edge the contest and I am backing him to do the same this weekend. Bivol, for all of his defensive prowess and excellent lateral movement, was unable to score enough offensively without putting himself in harm’s way and I am anticipating a similar scenario this time around.

Question marks do remain over whether we have seen the best of Beterbiev and, at 40-years-old, the rematch with Bivol represents his quickest turnaround between fights in almost ten years. I do feel that will work to his advantage, particularly considering his slow start to the first fight.

These are unquestionably the best two light-heavyweights on the planet and, as we saw in the last October, there isn’t much to split them. I favoured Beterbiev strongly for the first fight and, while I'm picking him again here, I am not anywhere near as confident.

Artur Beterbiev v Dmitry Bivol Odds

(Odds will display when markets are available).

Rob Tebbutt

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