Dmitry Bivol is the new undisputed light heavyweight champion after scoring a revenge triumph over Artur Beterbiev at the Kingdom Arena.
Bivol scored a sensational rematch victory over Beterbiev in Riyadh as the Canelo conqueror upped his work from the first bout to turn the tables on his career rival. His game plan was immense as he peppered Beterbiev once the inevitable bombs came his way. Bivol took a more measured approach and made sure he outscored the former champion for the majority of the rounds.
Bivol gains revenge over Beterbiev
Beterbiev managed to land his power punches, but Bivol – as in the first fight, took them well and rose to the occasion. Beterbiev enjoyed his belt spell in the mid-rounds as Bivol struggled with the sheer volume of shots. However, he got his wind back in the seventh and dominated down the stretch using his jab and combinations.
Bivol won by exactly the same score as Beterbiev in the first fight. The judges scored Bivol a 114-114, 116-112, 115-113 majority decision. The WBN Scorecard read 116-112 to Bivol.
Both men have now inflicted their first career defeats on each other ahead of a trilogy.
Trilogy
Turki Alalshikh confirmed a third fight during the aftermath, with Bivol and Beterbiev likely colliding again in October during Riyadh Season, as they did last year. After 24 pulsating rounds, the main event again lived up to expectations as Bivol took the WBC, WBO, WBA, IBF, and Ring Magazine belts from Beterbiev.
CompuBox: Both fighters came out more aggressively at the beginning of their rematch than they did in their first encounter. Beterbiev seemed to gain the upper hand starting in the third round, as he out-landed Bivol 50-43 in rounds three through five. From the sixth round on, Bivol found another gear while Beterbiev slowed down. Bivol landed 170 punches- the most by a Beterbiev opponent. After averaging 35 punches thrown and 12 punches landed per round in their first encounter, Bivol averaged 46 and 14, respectively. Beterbiev reached double digits in five of the twelve rounds, while Bivol landed at least ten punches in eleven of the twelve rounds. One judge scored the fight a draw. The other two judges scored the fight 116-112 and 115-113, both for Bivol.
Undercard Results
The fight card produced some memorable moments on Saturday night, beginning with the co-feature. Joseph Parker chopped down Martin Bakole, his out-of-shape late replacement. The New Zealander retained the interim WBO heavyweight title after Bakole stepped in for Daniel Dubois, who pulled out due to illness.
Bakole flew to Saudi Arabia at only 48 hours’ notice, weighing 315 pounds and looking like he’d just stepped off the sofa. The Congan and his team knew he had only a short time to do damage. He landed a couple of shots at the end of the first, but as soon as Parker caught him with a solid shot high on the head, his equilibrium left the room. He made it up for ten, but Parker got the TKO.
Shakur Stevenson battered Josh Padley for a ninth-round stoppage. Padley, who replaced Floyd Schofield, was clearly out of his depth from the start of the contest. Stevenson retained his WBC lightweight title and moved on to more substantial challenges.
Carlos Adames kept his WBC middleweight title in a stunning controversy. Facing one of Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season Ambassadors in Hamzah Sheeraz, Adames did more than enough to win the fight. However, one score of 118-110 in favor of Adames that looked correct was ruled out by 115-114 for Sheeraz and 114-114 for a split draw.
Vergil Ortiz Jr. retained his interim WBC super welterweight title against Israil Madrimov 117-111 and 115-113, twice on the scorecards.
Agit Kabayel secured his third scalp of the Riyadh Season following victories over Arslanbek Makhmudov and Frank Sanchez by stopping Chinese juggernaut Zhilei Zhang in six rounds breaking him down with body shots. He won the WBC interim heavyweight title and hopes to land his shot in the coming months.
Liverpool’s Callum Smith prevailed from a twelve-round war with Joshua Buatsi via a unanimous decision. In a superb sixth round, Smith had Buasti reeling only to get caught himself and luckily make it out of the round. From then on, Smith managed to see out the victory. All three judges scored for the Liverpool man 119-110, 116-112, and 115-113. Light heavyweight Smith claimed the WBO’s interim title.
Mohammed Alakel and Ziyad Almaayouf gave the Saudi Arabian fans something to cheer in early action.
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Read all articles and exclusive interviews by Phil Jay. Learn more about the author, experienced boxing writer, and World Boxing News Editor since 2010.
