I scored Dmitry Bivol the winner of October’s fight with Artur Beterbiev. It was close, because of the strong way Beterbiev ended it, but while I didn’t think it was close to a robbery, given how close it was, Bivol’s control of the early rounds was what most impressed me.

His jab, and his defence – he didn’t get hit much – were complemented by him landing some stinging right hands. It was a very tactical fight; it was nuanced. Both fighters’ positioning is masterful. To watch them fence, back and forth, with their footwork, was a privilege. It was a tremendous fight – it was how competitive fights at the highest level often are.

I expect Saturday’s rematch to be similarly tactical competitive. I anticipate round 13 – following the 12 we saw in October – instead of round one. They’re both very good at asserting their styles, and I expect them to show that again. It’ll be back and forth, round by round. It might even be fought at a higher pace. But it can otherwise be expected to be similar to how it was the first time around.

Bivol, 34, is one of the best plus-minus fighters in the game – that is, how many punches he lands versus how many punches he gets hit with. He has that Soviet Union style of boxing in and out – he’s constantly back and forth, and he remains busy by throwing a lot of jabs and his razor sharp right hand. He’s also a great counter-puncher, and great at making opponents miss. He makes opponents fall off-balance and then takes advantage. He’s not recognised as a huge puncher, but everyone who’s fought him says he hits very hard.

Beterbiev’s much more of a come-forward fighter than Bivol. He also has a strong defence – he regardless occasionally gets hit with some solid shots – and favours vying for positions from which he can use his full power. He uses his incredible punching power to punch through targets while his feet are underneath him.

That power is such that a lot of his previous opponents haven’t been the same again after fighting Beterbiev. There’s a chance that that could also end up applying to Bivol. But other than some swelling under one of his eyes, in comparison to Beterbiev’s other opponents, Bivol didn’t take much punishment at all. That damage was also what I call “flak” – that is, damage from his own glove, from blocking a punch but the impact of blocking gradually causing damage. It leads to observers believing that fighters have got hit more than they have. But it’s actually very possible that Bivol, having survived Beterbiev’s power first time around, is willing to take more risks on Saturday night.

I consider it very relevant that Beterbiev, at 40, is fighting again so quickly, having typically been used to much lengthier layoffs and also experiencing injuries before previous dates with Bivol and Callum Smith. When a fighter gets older the training camps can be even more problematic than the fights. I would love to know more about his recovery from that first fight and how his training camp was or whether he had to hold back at all.

All that written, I believe it would be a mistake for Bivol to make major adjustments. If he tries to be more aggressive, or take more risks, or start earlier, there’s a good chance he’d get knocked out by such a dangerous puncher. The more time a fighter shares a ring with Beterbiev, the greater the chance of them getting knocked out. If he goes out and fights an identical fight, the controversy that followed the scores the first time means that he might instead be scored the winner.

I was in Sullivan Barrera’s corner when he fought Bivol in 2018, and in that first round I watched Bivol, particularly adeptly, step back, make Barrera miss with the jab, and step in as smoothly as possible with possibly the cleanest, stiffest jab I’ve seen. I looked at the corner and said, ‘We’re not winning tonight’. It was the first round. 

Beterbiev, like Bivol, is a rhythm fighter, but he’s more subtle, in that context – he finds his opponent’s rhythm, and punches on that line. In a rematch, by the way, a fighter like him can be relied upon to find that rhythm more quickly. I also think that Beterbiev is the narrowly more intelligent fighter and the one likely to have taken the most away from their first fight. By comparison, he simplifies everything – he waits for an opponent to be in the position he wants them to be in before throwing the perfect punch. Bivol’s footwork is more complex; he sets his own rhythm to set the tone, and attempts to change his opponent’s rhythm. Ultimately, I’m expecting an almost carbon copy of their first fight, followed by Bivol being awarded a narrow decision.

Of the very appealing undercard, the WBC middleweight title fight between the champion Carlos Adames and Hamzah Sheeraz is the one I’m most looking forward to. It’s a fantastic fight – neither is getting the credit they’re due for fighting each other at this stage. 

Adames is incredibly underrated. He’s a thoroughbred; rough; strong; has great technique; power, and stamina. But Sheeraz is the future. The only question that matters, really, is whether the future is now. Sheeraz is going to be a leading middleweight, but he might not be just yet. If he’s not yet, he’ll lose to Adames. But if he’s already everything I’m convinced he’s going to eventually prove himself, he’ll be a world champion – I rate him so highly that I favour him to earn a stoppage and take over the division.