Bivol gambles on rematch to banish ‘a tasteless life'

Dmitry Bivol talks Alex Pattle through the crucial details that could decide Saturday's 'revenge' against Artur Beterbiev

-  Alex Pattle

In the underground venue Here, in London's West End, Dmitry Bivol is hunched forward on a sofa. Dictaphones are jabbed towards a stoic face illuminated by a bright white studio light. He clasps his calloused hands, one thumbnail sporting a dark bruise. Barely 10 metres away, a topless Artur Beterbiev shadowboxes in front of a green screen. It is a surreal scene.

Beterbiev is soon gone, while Bivol stays to answer questions. His answers are thoughtful yet mostly directed at the ground, his gaze barely straying above the semi-circle of audio recorders in front of him. Bivol’s English is not as dynamic as his boxing, but it is good; he just happens to be a man of few words. Thankfully, from our perspective, he is a man of more words than Beterbiev, his similarly part-Russian rival.

With this in mind, one moment juts out of his conversation with The Independent and other publications. It is the moment he describes the week after his loss to Beterbiev – a controversial result in October, which marked Bivol’s first defeat as a professional and crowned Beterbiev the undisputed lightheavyweight champion.

“It was a... tasteless life,” Bivol says, with a surprisingly easy poeticism. There is the slightest grimace from the 34-year-old, too. “It was empty, no emotions, not enjoying the food you want to enjoy. [But] it was a short time when I didn’t like [life]. In the beginning, you don’t want to see too many people, you don’t want to talk too much, but then I just switched the negative emotions and started enjoying life. You start finding some good stuff, enjoying the food, enjoying company.”

As much as gratitude and hope can be audible, they are exactly that when Bivol delivers his next line: “I have another chance, not too many people get another chance.”