Andre Ward Slams Bivol For Being Naive – ‘Too Much Talking’

Andre Ward criticized Dmitry Bivol for speaking about Artur Beterbiev’s skillset following his loss in their Undisputed Light Heavyweight Championship fight.

Bivol lost a majority decision in a controversial result, with many feeling he had done enough to get the win. Eddie Hearn hit out at the scorecards, one of which had it 116-112 in favor of Beterbiev. That meant that Bivol only won four rounds, despite many ex-pros, such as Carl Froch and Paul Malignaggi, giving Bivol the victory. Shawn Porter even went as far as to state that he had Bivol winning eight rounds. That has set the narrative for a rematch, with many feeling that Bivol had been unjustly prevented from becoming undisputed. The Saudis have also confirmed that they want to make that rematch, provided both boxes are willing to take it. 

The Rematch

“It’s one of the greatest fights I’ve ever seen in the last 20 years, but I don’t think the result is fair. I think Bivol win two rounds more. I don’t know why the result is like this, but I will try to do the rematch. They deserve it. If they accept, we will do it,” Turki Alalshikh said

Bivol confirmed that he did not get troubled by Beterbiev’s power, stating that Canelo Alvarez had more power on his individual punches. However, when it came to putting punches together, he recognized that Beterbiev was better. Ward criticized those comments, stating that it could impact a potential rematch, as he was giving Beterbiev signs of what he felt in the fight. It may also give the game plan away. Bivol could become more aggressive in the rematch if he does not feel that Beterbiev’s power is hurting him. 

“I could compare [it] with Canelo. He put all his energy, all his power [into] a single punch. [So,] sometimes he’s harder than Beterbiev. Beterbiev, every punch will be [harder than] Canelo. Both of them are strong, but Beterbiev is bigger, and he’s born strong. He has very strong punches. [I felt] his right hand even through my left. My thumb is swollen because I was holding it on my head, and he was beating on my hand. I felt like my hand came inside of my head from the power,” Bivol said 

Ward Reacts

While that may be the case, Bivol’s face did have bruising around the area, suggesting that he did feel the power. There is also a chance that if Bivol becomes more aggressive in the rematch, he will get caught. This is something that Anthony Yarde discovered. The Brit was landing on Beterbiev with his counters. However, he opened up, getting hit in return as he was eventually stopped. That is the balance that Bivol must get right in any rematch. But Ward cautioned him from giving it too much away.

“You should never concede this openly when there is potential for a rematch. Keep that to yourself! Too much talking,” Ward said