Unified IBF/WBC/WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) came on strong in the second half of the contest to defeat WBA belt-holder Dmitry Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) by a 12-round majority decision to become the undisputed champion on Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Bivol landed some good combinations in the first half but was on his bike often during the championship rounds, allowing Beterbiev to dominate. Bivol focused on jabbing and throwing in spurts rather than standing his ground the way he needed to.
Beterbiev’s pressure and power were factors in his decision. He pushed the fight through most of the 12-round contest, especially in the important second half.
The scores: 114-114, 115-113 and 116-112.
Bivol, 33, looked superb in the first half of the fight, jabbing, ripping combinations, and staying out of range of Beterbiev’s hard punches. In the early going, the previously unbeaten Bivol looked as good as he had in his fight against Canelo Alvarez.
Things came apart for Bivol at the midpoint of the contest, in round six. He got Beterbiev with a flurry of punches in round six, getting the ground excited, thinking they could be on the verge of seeing a knockout.
That sequence woke up Beterbiev, engaging his competitive spirit, and he went after Bivol nonstop from that point on. Beterbiev went into seek-and-destroy mode through rounds 6-12 and had Bivol fleeing. The only round Bivol appeared to win in the second half of the fight was the tenth, which was close.
Beterbiev was on the constant attack in rounds 10, 11, and 12, connecting with big, eye-catching punches. In the 12th, Bivol chose to move and hold, giving that round away to Beterbiev.
In hindsight, Bivol made a big mistake because he should have let his hands go and fought hard in the last round. However, given Bivol’s punishment in the 11th round, he lacked the confidence to engage with Beterbiev in the final round the way he needed.
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