The two fighters put on a fantastic show for 12 rounds. It was a different story from their first encounter in October when Beterbiev walked away with the majority decision and all the belts.
Bivol felt more at ease this time around. He said after the fight:
"I lost [the first fight] and felt a little bit easier maybe. I didn't pressure myself too much this time like before the last fight. I just wanted to work from the first round to the end of the 12th. I was pushing myself more. I was more confident. I was lighter. I just wanted to win so much today."
Bivol's strategy paid off. He managed to keep Beterbiev at bay in the early rounds and capitalized when his opponent started to tire.
"I just told myself 'he could start from the beginning to disrupt me, to disturb me.' It was hard to be honest to keep him at distance in the first four rounds, then I saw he was tired. I was tired also but I had to be smarter and land more clean punches, and I did it."
Despite the loss, the 40-year-old Beterbiev isn't ready to hang up his gloves. He congratulated Bivol's team and expressed interest in a third fight:
"I think this fight was better than the first fight but we'll see. I didn't want to do a second fight, but no problem, we're going to do a third fight."
Bivol seems open to the idea of a trilogy but wants to take some time off first. He mentioned dealing with injuries during his training camp and wants to heal before his next challenge.
"I'm ready for any challenge in the future. I want a little bit of rest because I had some injuries in the summer and this time I had injuries and was using antiinflammation almost all camp. I want to heal myself and come back."
The fight took place in Riyadh and was part of a bigger boxing event. Other winners on the night included Joseph Parker, Shakur Stevenson, Vergil Ortiz, Agit Kabayel, and Callum Smith.