Bob Santos is looking forward to a rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol with keen interest and anticipates another close encounter between the Russian greats.

Earlier this month Beterbiev, 39, triumphed over 33-year-old Bivol in a close undisputed light heavyweight championship fight which saw judges award the former a 115-113, 116-112, and 114-114 majority decision victory in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Santos says the rematch could be different, but only if one of the two fighters manages to land a surprise shot to change the dynamics of the bout.

“I think it's gonna be very similar to the first fight,” Santos told BoxingScene. “Although, again, this is boxing and anybody could get hit with something that turns the fight around. 

“So, unless one of them can land a big shot on the other one to really kinda get them in trouble or wane during the fight, I think it'll be much more as it went the first time. And then it's just gonna come down to what the judges like.”

The choice of the judges to award Beterbiev, 21-0 (20), a majority decision win last time out split opinion, with many feeling Bivol, 23-1 (12), deserved a narrow win. Bivol had started the bout well, winning the opening rounds, but then Beterbiev took over the middle part of the fight.

“I would have been okay with a draw, and I'm okay with Beterbiev winning,” said Santos. “I feel like some of the rounds are very subjective. It was a very close fight. I could see how they gave it to him. By no means was it a robbery one way or the other.

“If they were to give it to the other guy, it's not a robbery. When you have two guys at the elite level that are so competitive, it's very difficult for the judges.”

When asked if he thinks Bivol gave the fight away in the final rounds, Santos affirmed that notion.

“I do think he either was a little bit tired or he did kinda give away the later rounds. I mean, early on, I definitely had Bivol winning. But that being said, Beterbiev still won a couple rounds in those first six, and then the middle rounds were very hard to score. 

“And then at the very end, the first round is just as important as the 12th. There's no two ways about it. They all scored the same but going down the stretch, you had to know the fight was very close. And for whatever reason, either he was a little bit tired or he thought he was up on the scorecards and he didn't have to engage, and, ultimately, that's what cost him the fight.”

Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at bernardneequaye@gmail.com.