Artur Beterbiev narrowly defeated Dmitry Bivol in a close fight to become the undisputed light heavyweight champion, winning on two of the judges’ scorecards and ending Bivol’s undefeated record while both fighters expressed interest in a rematch.
Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol went down to the wire. A nail-biter, for sure.
The battle for the light heavyweight division’s undisputed champion wasn’t exactly clear-cut. Beterbiev snagged the win on two judges’ scorecards (116-112 and 115-113), but the third judge called it a draw (114-114). Close call, huh?
Check out the official scorecards from Saturday’s main event in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, below. They’re quite revealing.
Judge Manuel Oliver Palomo was the odd one out, while Glenn Feldman scored it 115-113 for Beterbiev. Pawel Kardyni? He had it 116-112 for Beterbiev.
With this victory, Beterbiev now holds titles from all four major boxing organizations. He walked into Saturday’s fight as the WBO, IBF, and WBC champ and snatched Bivol’s WBA belt with that decision win. Oh, and he also handed Bivol his first professional loss, dropping him to a 23-1 record.
Beterbiev improved to an impressive 21-0. However, his knockout streak came to a halt as he went to the scorecards for the first time in his career spanning over a decade. Afterward? Both fighters expressed interest in an immediate rematch. Can’t wait!