Like everyone else who watched the fight between light-heavyweights Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol on Saturday night, all-time great Roy Jones has an opinion on what the outcome should have been. Jones, like many of us, does not agree with the 116-112 card in favour of Beterbiev, with Jones saying “nobody won or lost the fight by four points.”
Speaking on his instagram page, Jones, who ruled at 175 pounds as well as at 160, 168 and even heavyweight (winning the WBA belt in 2003), says there just has to be an immediate rematch between Beterbiev and Bivol.
“We had a very fantastic fight. A fight I thought could have gone either way,” Jones said of the four-belt unification showdown that was won by Beterbiev via 12 round majority decision. “However it goes, nobody won or lost the fight by four points, that ridiculous, which is why I say we need an immediate rematch. Both guys did a lot to change. Beterbiev showed me more than he’s ever showed me before about being a boxer. He can actually box, and I was surprised. Bivol was a very good defender which we knew, he was a very good counter-puncher, which we knew. He jumped out to the early lead I thought. Beterbiev finished the fight stronger. So that’s why I think in my point of view the fight should be a draw, and let’s get a rematch.”
A rematch between Beterbiev, 21-0(20) and Bivol, 23-1(12) is an absolute no-brainer, while plenty of fans will likely agree with Jones when he says the fight should have been scored a draw. It was darn close, even if some experts do feel as though Bivol outboxed Beterbiev and deserved a win by a couple of points. Most people do say, though, that this one was not a robbery.
A fight of two halves, Bertebiev did indeed come on strong in the second half of the bout. Hopefully that rematch will happen some time in the first half of next year. But if so, what makes anyone think it will be anything but a close, at times hard to score, nip and tuck fight once again? Beterbiev and Bivol are two superb fighters who are superbly matched against one another. Could we even see a trilogy between the two?
