Artur Beterbiev beats Dmitry Bivol to win undisputed light heavyweight championship – as it happened
By Bryan Armen Graham,
7 hours ago
Dmitry Bivol, left, lands a punch on Artur Beterbiev during their light heavyweight title fight on Sunday morning in Riyadh. Photograph: Richard Pelham/Getty Images
12.42am BST
That’s all for tonight. Thanks for following along with us and be sure to check out the full fight report here .
“I have to do everything perfect,” Bivol says afterward. “And I don’t have any explanation because it could look like excuses. I just ... Congratulations to Artur and his team. He deserves it.”
Bivol is asked if he felt Beterbiev’s power at any point during the fight. He gestures to the ample bruising around his eyes, but notes that most of them came from his own gloves as he blocked his opponent’s offerings.
“He’s powerful,” he says. “Very powerful. And you see, I have a bruise from my from my hand. [His punching] was so hard, even he reached my eye.”
Would he want to fight a rematch?
“Why not? Of course,” he says. “If I had this chance, yes. This is my dream to be undisputed.”
12.07am BST
“I don’t know why, but I didn’t like this fight,” Beterbiev tells the in-ring interviewer. “But I’ll be better one day.” From there he’s mostly short and to the point.
Was it a tough fight?
“It’s not tough,” he says. “It’s like a little bit uncomfortable. He is world champion, too. He has good skills. But today, Allah chose me.”
What changes did he make during the fight?
“During the fight, we always try to change something,” he says. “I wanted to punch him. Maybe that’s why I delivered more punches. I don’t know.”
How does it feel to go the distance for the first time after knocking out 20 straight opponents to start his career?
“It’s a new experience,” he says. “I’m happy that for that. Even Muhammad Ali have fights [that went the] full distance. I’m not a bad boxer.”
11.52pm BST
Artur Beterbiev wins by majority decision!
Beterbiev is the undisputed light heavyweight champion of world after winning a majority decision. Two judges handed down scores of 116-112 and 115-113 for Beterbiev while the other had it 114-114 (as did the Guardian).
11.50pm BST
Round 12
Bivol looked completely tapped out by the end of the 11th round and he doesn’t look much better at the start of the 12th. Beterbiev is moving straight ahead, throwing and landing more shots as Bivol conjures every ounce of technique to block, parry and generally fend off a determined opponent with power combinations. A very close round to end a very close, high-level match between two elite competitors. Wonderful stuff.
What a fight! Beterbiev’s power shots have finally broken through and Bivol is taking an alarming volume of punches. Bivol is moving backwards, visibly fatigues, as Beterbiev stalks forward and lands blows in combination. Bivol tries to tie up his foe in vain and is left in survival mode until the bell. The best round of the fight for Beterbiev, easily. Three more minutes.
Bivol’s disciplined defense and technical skill are on full display. He’s landing the crisper shots while nearly all of Beterbiev’s shots are failing to reach the target, mostly landing in Bivol’s gloves. Beterbiev finished the frame strong but it wasn’t enough to swing the round.
An excellent round by Bivol right when it felt like things were slipping away. Bivol returns to boxing behind that jab and using lateral movement and feints to keep the hard-hitting Beterbiev off balance. Now it’s Beterbiev who is starting to look a little discouraged with three rounds to go.
More constant pressure from Beterbiev, finding ways to penetrate his foe’s high guard. Bivol is slowing down and appears to be taking the round off. He tries to steal it in the last 15 seconds, firing off about a dozen unanswered punches, all of which are swallowed up by Beterbiev’s guard.
A promising start to the seventh for Bivol, who returns to the formula that was working so well for him in the early rounds. Bivol then catches Beterbiev with a left hand flush to the jaw on the back end of a one-two combination. And Beterbiev looks hurt! Bivol is chasing down the puncher. But he overcommits and Beterbiev swings the action back in his favor, trapping Bivol against the ropes and opening up. He’s lucky the bell sounded when it did. Close round to score but Beterbiev nicks it here.
Beterbiev is starting to catch up to Bivol along the ropes more and more often, landing a couple of thudding shots the appear to visibly slow him down. Bivol under intense mental and physical duress at the moment as the hard-charging Beterbiev looks to turn the tide.
Beterbiev continues to chart improvement, throwing more punches than Bivol with most of them landing on the younger man’s guard. Beterbiev is relentless in there, in full seek-and-destroy mode and fighting downhill as Bivol continues to jab and counter off the back foot. Bivol lands a crunching left hook with about a half-minute to go but Beterbiev finishes the round with a flurry of activity, doing just enough to shade the round on our card.
Beterbiev’s plodding, unsparing pressure not quite enough to offset Bivol’s workrate and effectiveness with the jab, but he’s closing the distance incrementally. Another round for Bivol but this will be the test of a lifetime for his stamina and endurance if he’s to keep this up for the scheduled 12 rounds, especially as Beterbiev begins to find a home for his jab.
More of the same from Bivol, who is countering beautifully but also opening up and landing some hard shots in combination. But Beterbiev is doing a better job of closing the distance, moving Bivol closer to the ropes with educated pressure and landing punishing blows of his down. Bivol nicks the round but Beterbiev, traditionally a slow starter, is very much in this fight.
Beterbiev is doing more to dictate the pace early in the second, forcing the issue and trying to disrupt his opponent from settling into a rhythm. But Bivol is boxing beautifully with the jab, maintaining distance, using lateral movement and scoring points with crisp counters. According to Compubox’s punch statistics, Bivol is outlanding Beterbiev by a 26-11 edge .
There’s the bell! Bivol throws the first blow, firing the left jab to keep Beterbiev. Beterbiev on the front foot, looking to counter-punch. Bivol is looking to maintain the distance. After a minute it’s largely a feeling-out round, but a tense one! Bivol is doing more behind the jab, enough to win the first, but both men open up near the end of the frame with Bivol showing he’s not afraid to exchange in the pocket.
The fighters have been announced by ring announcer Michael Buffer. The final instructions have been given by referee Thomas Taylor the seconds are out and we’ll pick it up with round-by-round coverage from here!
10.57pm BST
The fighters are making their ringwalks. First it’s Artur Beterbiev, in a spartan kit of white T-shirt and red trunks, approaching the ring at a full canter as Rizavdi Ismailov’s Вперед Ахмат plays from the arena soundsystem. Now it’s Dmitry Bivol’s turn and he’s making his way to the squared circle at a similarly frenetic pace. Both of these guys can’t wait to get started. A quick pause for the national anthem of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Michael Buffer is moving forward with the introductions. Not much longer now.
10.49pm BST
Ciara, Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliott have taken the stage. From a production standpoint it’s at least on par with a Grey Cup half-time show if not the Super Bowl. The 15-minute spectacular is closed by Missy’s Lose Control with the newly minted Rock & Roll Hall of Famer earning the highest marks of the three by some distance. The fighters should be making their entrances in the next few minutes.
Updated at 12.47am BST
10.27pm BST
Time change: US TV coverage to start at 5.30pm
Timings update! Top Rank Promotions has announced that US television coverage of tonight’s main event on ESPN+ will now begin at 5.30pm ET – five minutes from now – instead of 6pm as originally scheduled. Remember: there’s a concert spectacular featuring Ciara, Busta Rhymes and Missy Elliott before we even think about the fighter entrances. What a time to be alive.
Updated at 10.28pm BST
10.22pm BST
The broadcasters for tonight’s main event are spinning their wheels with 40 minutes to go until the main event. DAZN has just brought on Wardley’s promoter, Queensberry supremo Frank Warren, who said that Clarke suffered a fractured cheekbone in the co-main.
10.16pm BST
“I went into that first fight with a lot of background stuff, a lot of things,” Wardley said after tonight’s stunning first-round TKO. “We got them fixed up. We got the game plan right. We put it together [and] executed on the night.
“Sometimes, war is needed. Sometimes a little bit of brains is needed. But I took enough assessment from the first fight to know, like I said in all of the interviews, I had success in that war mode. We just needed to cuten it a little bit. We just needed to be a little bit sweeter, put it together a little bit nicer, set things up a little bit better, disguise them a little bit better. But look, I can’t help it. War by name, war by nature.
“Once I have my enemies hurt, there’s there’s no help for them unless that bell comes. That’s the only thing that will save you.”
Asked what he wants next, the 29-year-old is to the point.
“I want belts, I want titles,” he says. “These look great and stuff, but I want the ones that say ‘world champion’. Whoever else is hunting them, we’re going to have to meet here.”
9.57pm BST
Tale of the tape
Here’s a look at how Beterbiev and Bivol measure up ahead of tonight’s main event. Physically, there’s not much to separate these former Russian amateur teammates: Beterbiev has the slightest of advantages in reach while Bivol has an even scanter edge in height. Both came in just beneath the light heavyweight division limit of 175lbs at yesterday’s weigh-in.
Fabio Wardley beats Frazer Clarke by first-round knockout!
A sensational first-round knockout in the co-main event at Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena. Wardley detonates a concussive overhand right hand on Clarke’s jaw that badly hurts the Tokyo Olympic bronze medalist near the end of the opening frame, then unloads until Clarke goes to the canvas in a heap. Clarke makes it to his feet but he’s simply not there and referee Victor Loughlin correctly waves it off.
That means there will be a nearly hour-and-a-half wait until the main event, which cannot begin until 1pm local time (11pm in London, 6pm in New York).
Updated at 9.41pm BST
9.25pm BST
Frazer Clarke has made his way into the ring for his British and Commonwealth heavyweight title bout with Fabio Wardley. It’s a rematch of their gripping encounter from March , which ended in a draw. This one could very well steal the show.
“I wanted to have breakfast with the British title over my lap – and it wasn’t there. People don’t understand my life and the sacrifices I make, the time I can’t spend with my loved ones, my kids who I missed taking their first steps or saying their first words because I was away at a training camp. People never understand how hard it is to be a boxer.”
I show Clarke a photograph of the canvas after his fight with Wardley. It looks like a Jackson Pollock painting where blood rather than paint has been sprayed and splashed across the canvas. “I’ve seen that photo,” he says, “and it definitely tells a story and shows the reality of our sport.
“I love boxing but it’s dangerous and I have a beautiful family who come first. That photograph is a little reminder that you don’t want it to be your blood. But I’m human and I wouldn’t want to do any lasting damage to anyone.”
Wardley admitted that such fights can take years off a boxer’s career. “In some cases, definitely,” Clarke agrees. “You want an exciting fight but you don’t ever want one like that.”
Clarke then grins helplessly. “But we’re fighters and so, in a strange way, I enjoyed it. Then when you look back you think: ‘Bloody hell!’ A lot of people ask: ‘How do you do it?’ The honest answer is I don’t know.”
When the draw was announced, Clarke looked more disappointed than Wardley. “I knew it was close but a draw was devastating. Still, Fabio and I had a few words full of respect in the changing room. I thanked him because he brought the best out of me.
“It was a really emotional night but there was a beautiful moment when I walked into the bar at the Intercontinental, at the O 2 , to a standing ovation from 300 people. Everyone wanted to buy me a drink. People were singing my name. Fabio walks in two minutes later to silence. That spoke volumes.”
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh has taken the stage to give away a Mercedes G-Wagon. He hits a big red button and the cameras eventually train on to a woman in hijab seated in the north grandstand. Kool & The Gang’s Celebration blasts from the arena soundsystem as she makes her way to the floor to receive the keys. It sure beats the T-shirt cannon!
Updated at 10.02pm BST
9.09pm BST
Jai Opetaia has just stopped Britain’s Jack Massey after Masse’s corner threw in the towel during the sixth round. The 29-year-old Sydneysider has successfully defended his IBF cruiserweight title and it leaves only one more undercard bout: Frazer Clarke and Fabio Wardley for the British and Commonwealth heavyweight title. After that, Beterbiev and Bivol will make their entrances.
9.03pm BST
Preamble
Hello and welcome to Riyadh’s Kingdom Arena for tonight’s summit meeting between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. There are big fights. There are blockbusters. And there are events like this one which promise to define an era. Tonight’s long-awaited showdown between two unbeaten veterans of the ring and former Russian amateur teammates not simply a delicious clash of styles, but promises to determine generational supremecy in the 175lbs division.
Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KO), the WBC, IBF and WBO light heavyweight champion, is a Russian-born Canadian knockout artist known for his relentless pressure and devastating power. Bivol (23-0, 12 KO), the Kyrgyzstan-born and California-based technician who holds the WBA strap, is better known for deft counter-punching, disciplined defense and ring intelligence. (Ask Canelo Álvarez .)
Bivol will look to neutralize Beterbiev’s pressure by maintaining distance, using lateral movement and scoring with crisp jabs and counters. Beterbiev will aim to close the distance, cut off the ring and impose his power with in-fighting and body work. The outcome could hinge on who can impose their style on the other.
The main event should kick off in about two hours’ time. Plenty more to come between now and then.
8.56pm BST
Bryan will be here shortly. In the meantime here’s a look at Friday’s weigh-ins, where Beterbiev (174.9lbs) and Bivol (174.12lbs) both came in narrowly under the division limit.
Beterbiev and Bivol both made weight after of Saturday’s hotly anticipated light heavyweight title fight.
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