Artur Beterbiev re-established himself as one of the heavyweight kings of the boxing world by beating his opponent Dmitry Bivol in a knockdown spectacular at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. The fight of the year contender saw Artur strip the champion of his light heavyweight title after a draining majority decision. This win kept Beterbiev’s record intact as the new undisputed light heavyweight champion of the world by unifying the IBF/WBC/WBO/WBA belts.
Battle Between Artur Beterbiev And Dmitry Bivol
At the beginning of the fight, Bivol showed his mastery of good technical boxing, dominating the beginning rounds with good punches and sharp reflexes. He seemed relaxed to control the distance and keep scoring shots. But starting from the 5th round, Artur Beterbiev was able to reverse the situation. Expecting the KO anytime soon, he continued to stalk his opponent while taking little punishment, which was not enough to deter him from his goal.
The middle rounds got tough for Bivol, who was under pressure while absorbing some solid shots from his contender. Beterbiev was a constant success spoiler by going forward and looking for gaps. Still, Dmitry has a great guard that allows him to defend most of the punches that Artur tries to land on him. However, the constant pressure from Beterbiev began to show its effects.
Judges’ Decision Controversy
The scorecards were split draw 114-114, Artur Beterbiev 115-113, and 116-112. However, the picture caused some confusion. Promoter Eddie Hearn and others believed Dmitry Bivol had done enough to win the fight. The division of opinion among the audience and pundits accurately told the story of how contentious the fight was. While the two were struggling to outscore each other, some analysts opined that Artur was the more aggressive fighter, especially towards the latter part of the fight. In the final two minutes, he intensified his pressure in the clinch and on the ground, securing the win by dominating each round’s closing moments.
From this fight, it could be seen that his whole strategy was all about controlled pressure. Dmitry Bivol was a bit more tactical and kept evading many punches; however, the constant pressure that Artur Beterbiev applied led him to victory. Dmitry Bivol was feeling the heat during the championship rounds, lagging in the performance. Increasing his punching rate in the last 45 seconds gave Artur a slight advantage over otherwise equally scored rounds.
Final Thoughts
People are already speculating about who might reignite their rivalry in a potential rematch. When Her Excellency Turki Alalshikh was present during the fight, some pundits felt that Dmitry Bivol would win the fight. He did call for a rematch between the two champions. Still actively competing into his late thirties and, astonishingly, performing at such a high level, one still wonders how Artur Beterbiev would fare in another fight with Dmitry Bivol.
However, the biggest threat could materialize in the form of Canelo Alvarez, should he decide to face Beterbiev in the light heavyweight division. The champion has a variety of mouth-watering prospects for the future, and the light heavyweight division seems to be gearing up for even more great bouts soon. Although fans enjoy these aggressive and high-stakes games, they are significantly contributing to the growing popularity of the sport in the Middle Eastern region.
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