Roy Jones Jr. Calls Beterbiev-Bivol Scorecards ‘Ridiculous’
Roy Jones Jr. believes Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol should have been scored a draw as he was stunned by the scorecards.
Beterbiev edged out a majority decision win with scorecards of 116-112, 115-113, and 114-114. Taking to social media after the fight, Jones Jr. ripped the scorecards as he thinks it should have been a draw and called for an immediate rematch to happen.
“Last night, we had a very fantastic fight,” Jones said. “A fight that I thought could’ve gone either way, but what happened happened. However, it goes, nobody won or lost the fight by four points. So that’s ridiculous, which is why I say we need an immediate rematch.”
Roy Jones Jr. says Artur Beterbiev did finish stronger as the fight went on, but he thought the fight was a draw and is hopeful an immediate rematch is next.
“Both guys did a lot to change. Beterbiev showed me more than he’s ever shown me before about being a boxer. He actually can walk, and I was surprised,” Jones Jr. said. “Bivol was a very good defender, which we knew. He was a good counter-puncher, which we knew. He jumped out to the early lead, I thought, but we never know. But how did it come down? Beterbiev did finish the fight strong or stronger. So that’s why I think in my point of view, the fight should be a draw, and it’s gonna be a rematch.”
Whether or not an immediate rematch will happen is uncertain. But, Roy Jones Jr. is not the only person who thought the fight was a draw and a rematch would likely do big numbers.
Beterbiev is 21-0 as a pro and coming off the decision win over Bivol. In his career, he has notable wins over Callum Smith, Anthony Yarde, Joe Smith Jr., and Marcus Browne among others. Bivol, meanwhile, fell to 23-1 as a pro with the loss to Beterbiev.
