The poster was expected, it did not disappoint. Light heavyweight Artur Beterbiev (20 wins in as many fights) and Dmitry Bivol (23 wins in 23 fights before Saturday evening) face each other in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. After a contested fight, in which no one could claim victory, Beterbiev won by majority decision (116-112, 115-113, 114-114).
So the Canadian, who already held the WBC, WBO, and IBF titles, added Bivol’s WBA title to his collection. Beterbiev maintains his invisibility and now sits unquestionably on the roof of the “light heavyweights”.
If Artur Beterbiev leaves with the laurels, Dmitry Bivol has nothing to be ashamed of. The Russian, the last man to beat “Canelo” Alvarez, took the event.
After his defeat, the Russian made no apologies and was open to the idea of revenge: “I thought things were under control going into the last round. But boxing is not just about control, it’s about pressure, and influencing the judges. I have no explanations, I’m not looking for excuses. Revenge? We have to ask the fans what they want. If so, I need it too.”
Extremely close fight
After starting when the Canadian appeared under Bivol, the new undisputed light heavyweight champion finished his fight in impressive fashion. Questioned after his victory, Beterbiev praised his opponent’s qualities: “Obviously it was a difficult game. Dmitry (Bivol) is a champion, he has good technique, maybe even better than me. But today, God chose me. »
The champion did not close the door to a rematch either. It will be the duty of his legendary promoter Bob Arum, and his Quebec coaches Marc Ramsay and Samuel Decarie (whom he shares with the Frenchman Christian Mbilli), to prepare him as well as possible for a possible new fight against Russia.