Artur Beterbiev made history by defeating Dmitry Bivol to become the undisputed light-heavyweight champion, a title last held over two decades ago and the first in the four-belt era. The bout, which took place in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, ended with a majority decision in favor of Beterbiev, with scores of 115-113, 116-112, and a draw at 114-114 from the third judge.
Both fighters entered the ring undefeated, with Bivol holding the WBA title and Beterbiev the WBC, WBO, and IBF titles. Bivol started strong, utilizing his jab effectively and landing clean shots early on. However, Beterbiev’s relentless pressure began to shift momentum.
As the rounds progressed, Beterbiev seemed as determined as he did at the start. Despite being challenged by Bivol’s combinations and footwork, he maintained focus and landed significant punches that visibly affected Bivol. The turning point came in the later rounds when Beterbiev unleashed a barrage of punches that left Bivol on the defensive. In round eleven, he capitalized on Bivol’s reduced output, effectively dictating the pace of the fight.
Bivol proved a few times that he was up to the fight, particularly in rounds eight and nine, where he landed effective body shots and combinations. However, he could not sustain this momentum against Beterbiev’s increasing aggression. Ultimately, while Bivol managed to take the fight the distance—becoming the first to do so against Beterbiev—he could not secure enough rounds to claim victory.
After the fight, Beterbiev commented that the fight made him uncomfortable due to how long it lasted, as it was his first fight not to end by a knockout: “I did not good today. I didn’t like this fight, but I’ll be better one day. It was not tough, it was a little bit uncomfortable.”
Bivol took time to praise the winner, calling it a deserved win. He also said he did his best but fell short of the judge’s expectations, hence his loss. Bivol’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, was quite vocal about his disappointment with how the result turned out, asking that the judge that scored Bivol four out of 12 rounds should never be asked to judge again.
On what’s next, it seems a rematch could be decided soon as both fighters said they are willing to fight again. Although at this point it is not clear if the fight contract had any rematch clause or if rematch could be automatically activated.
