David Benavidez insists that former WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol deserved to win his fight against IBF/WBC/WBO champion Artur Beterbiev on October 12 in Riyadh.
The superiority of Bivol
WBC “interim” 175-pound champion Benavidez says Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) threw the best combinations and controlled most of the fight. He believes that if Bivol, 34, fights the same way as last time, he will beat undisputed champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) in their rematch on February 22 in Riyadh. Their fight will be broadcast live on DAZN PPV.
Some believe that the reason Benavidez is choosing Bivol to win the rematch is his desire to see him victorious, as he might lack the confidence to defeat Beterbiev, who is a huge puncher. “Mexican Monster” Benavidez’s fighting style requires him to put every ounce of energy into every punch he throws to get maximum power on his shots.
David is not a big puncher, so he takes everything he throws to improve his power. This style won’t work against Beterbiev because he throws short punches with tremendous power, and unlike Benavidez, he doesn’t need to finish to generate his force.
If Benavidez fights Artur, it will be a miserable night. He couldn’t charge his shots because he would get hit. Additionally, David’s quick combo punches would leave him at risk of being countered by Beterbiev and eliminated.
Although Benavidez takes good shots due to his thick skull, which has a slight appearance of acromegaly, his ability to take body shots is not as good. He can be injured there. In the 12th round, Oleksandr Gvozdyk landed a hard right hand to Benavidez’s midsection, completely ending his attack for the remainder of the round.
He didn’t throw a single punch after being hurt in the body by Gvozdyk in the final round. Beterbiev is a better body puncher than Gvozdyk, and he will have seen that weakness and focus on that area rather than wasting shots on the thick skull of Benavidez.
Revenge prediction
“I thought Bivol won that fight. It was a close fight. It couldn’t have gone one way or the other,” David Benavidez told mediaspeaking about the Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol fight on October 12 last year in Riyadh.
“I feel like Bivol won most of the rounds. He was in control most of the rounds and his punch combination was better,” Benavidez continued. “I think he [Bivol] do [win the rematch on February 22nd].
“Both of these fighters are high caliber fighters. So they can make adjustments. I don’t know if it will be the same fight or not, but if it is the same fight, I feel like Bivol wins.
