Artur Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs) finally tasted defeat for the first time, losing his undisputed light heavyweight championship to Dmitry Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) in their rematch on Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh
Bivol, 34, used his superior hand speed, combination punching, and movement to box his way to a decision. Beterbiev had his moments, landing hard punches when he could get to Bivol, but he couldn’t cut off the ring well enough. It was a fight that probably should have been a draw, but it works out well with it going for Bivol. At least now, the fans and promoter Eddie Hearn, who complained about the previous fight, can’t make a fuss. They got their win.
The scores
114-114
116-112: Bivol
115-113: Bivol
The fight lacked drama, mostly involving Bivol moving around the ring, throwing fast shots, and then tying up Beterbiev. It would been more interesting for fans to watch if Bivol had stood and engaged, but that’s not his style. He’s a mover. All the movement that Bivol used made it impossible for Beterbiev to get his shots off. When he Bivol right in front of him, he wasn’t throwing enough.
He was just waiting until the perfect time, and Bivol was able to get his shots off. In the 12th, Beterbiev abandoned his cautious style and bludgeoned Bivol in that round. If he had fought like that in the other rounds, it would have been a one-sided fight. Bivol likely would have been knocked out because his left eye was all messed up from just that round. He looked in distress as the fight ended.
This fight would have been better on the undercard beneath the Vergil ortiz Jr. vs. Israil Madrimov clash. That was easily the best of the fights on tonight’s main card. The co-feature fight between Joseph Parker an obese Martin Bakole turned out to be an awful mismatch.
With the victory, Bivol and Beterbiev will likely meet in a trilogy next. That’ll be up to Turki Alalshikh to decide if he wants to go in that direction. After tonight’s dull rematch, it would be better for the boxing public if Turki went in a different direction and had David Benavidez challenge Bivol for his four titles. Obviously, Bivol’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, will likely try and convince Turki to set aside the trilogy with Beterbiev to focus on either Benavidez or Canelo Alvarez.
The Mexican superstar Canelo is busy fighting Terence Crawford next, so he’s not a viable option this year until Turki can negotiate a fight for December involving Bivol.
Last Updated on 02/22/2025
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