The main event bout between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol ended with the former claiming a majority decision win at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh on Saturday, Afrosport reports.
The two boxers entered the ring looking to make history, having previously been undefeated, knowing that for one of them, the record was definitely going to be a thing of the past.
It, however, was Beterbiev who came out on top, thereby unifying the light-heavyweight titles in the process and becoming the division’s undisputed champion in a gruesome fight inside a packed arena filled with superstars like Brazilian footballer Neymar.
𝐁𝐄𝐓𝐄𝐑𝐁𝐈𝐄𝐕 𝐃𝐎𝐄𝐒 𝐈𝐓 👑@ABeterbiev edges out Dmitry Bivol on the scorecards to become the UNDISPUTED Light Heavyweight Champion 👏#BeterbievBivol | #RiyadhSeason | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/GzFZj6TK9M
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) October 12, 2024
The 39-year-old became the first undisputed light-heavyweight champion of the four-belt era and the first since Roy Jones in 1999, as he added Bivol’s WBA belt to his WBC, WBO and IBF collections.
The headline bout, which was initially intended for June, was postponed due to Russian-Canadian boxer Beterbiev suffering a knee injury.
The unifying champion surely didn’t expect what was served to him by Bivol, who became the first boxer to take his former sparring partner and amateur team-mate to the limit.
The two boxers fought valiantly, with the tide changing round after round during the 12-long rounds, but two of the three judges thought Beterbiev had done enough to secure victory while the final judge scored the fight a draw.
The pair of Pawel Kardyni and Glenn Feldman scored the bout 116-112 and 115-113 in favour of Beterbiev, while Manuel Oliver Palomo had it at a 114-114 draw.
“I feel not bad. I wanted to box more, I don’t like this fight,” Beterbiev said. “I was a little bit uncomfortable.
“Of course it was a tough fight, Dmitry [Bivol] is world champion and has better skills than me.
“I felt uncomfortable, because usually I’m not waiting for the bell!” he added.
Beterbiev’s record improved to a staggering 21-0 but his unblemished knockout record came to an end.
𝙎𝙩𝙧𝙖𝙥 𝙎𝙚𝙖𝙨𝙤𝙣 👑#BeterbievBivol | #RiyadhSeason | @Turki_alalshikh pic.twitter.com/yLsfOmB61w
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) October 12, 2024
For Bivol, the outcome of the fight marked his first career loss as he dropped to 23-1. Despite the painful defeat, he congratulated Beterbiev and added that he had no complaints as regards the judges’ rulings.
“I am a warrior; I have to do everything perfect. I don’t have any explanation or excuses,” the 33-year-old Russian said.
“I just congratulate Artur [Beterbiev] and his team, he deserves it.
“I did my job, I felt I could do better, I always feel I can do better, but that’s the opinion of the judges. He won.
“He is very powerful and you can see I have a bruise on my head, he always hit so hard. If I have this chance then why not (do it again)? It is my dream to be undisputed.”
