Bob Arum ‘delighted’ by broadcast platform for Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol

Top Rank boss Bob Arum has described the upcoming undisputed light heavyweight championship between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol as a battle between ‘legends’.

The two undefeated stars – Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) and Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) – are scheduled to slug it out for the WBC, IBF, WBO, and WBA belts at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday, Oct. 12. The bout will stream live and exclusively on ESPN+ in the U.S.

And Arum, no stranger to hyperbole, can’t wait. “The epic matchup has been a long time coming, and I can’t wait until these two legends of the ring meet,” said Arum.

The long-awaited fight was postponed last May after WBC, IBF, and WBO champ Beterbiev withdrew because of a ruptured meniscus on May 3. The incident forced WBA titlist Bivol to face Malik Zinad on the June 1 card instead, scoring a sixth-round TKO.

 Bivol, 33, managed just a solitary fight last year after stellar performances over superstar Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in 2022. On Oct. 12, Bivol will make his second ring appearance this year after Zinad’s win.

Meanwhile, 39-year-old Beterbiev last fought in January, knocking out British former super middleweight world champion Callum Smith. Beterbiev became a unified 175-pound titlist in 2019, stopping Oleksandr Gvozdyk in 10 rounds to win the WBC and IBF belts.

After two successful defenses, Beterbiev went on to destroy Joe Smith Jr in two rounds to add the WBO belt to his collections. With all these dynamics, Arum is confident the fight would be a thriller.

“I am thrilled that American fans can view the fight on ESPN+, a tremendous platform that consistently shows the biggest and best bouts.”

Bernard Neequaye is a sports journalist with a specialty in boxing coverage. He wrote a boxing column titled “From The Ringside” in his native Ghana for years. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at @BernardNeequaye, LinkedIn at Bernard Neequaye and through email at [email protected].