At the end of 12 gruelling rounds, Artur Beterbiev grinned and joked about how it was nice to finally hear the closing bell. After 20 wins, all by knockout, this time, he had to dig deep, readjust and pound out a majority decision verdict over Dmitry Bivol to take home all the marbles at 175.
Classy in defeat, as his ex-wife revelled in the proceedings on an accompanying live stream, Bivol credited his conqueror and sulked away backstage. An outstanding champion who boxed, moved and traded to perfection for about nine rounds, Bivol left his opponent requiring a big finish. Beterbiev duly delivered.
Bivol’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, raged about the scoring (a 114-114 draw and 115-113, 116-112 in Beterbiev’s favour), and the ultimate voice on all boxing matters, Turki Alalshikh, also publicly sided with Bivol, leaving a rematch likely.
Those political and contractual matters will be discussed in due course. Back in the ring, when Bivol used his jab, rolled the shoulders, and occasionally unleashed that blisteringly accurate hand speed, the rounds belonged to him.
Even though slightly under par, Beterbiev’s strategic brain matched his barbarous brawn as he adjusted the feet, stifled the range, and steadily suffocated his foe just enough to close gaps of space and scoring.
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The Marc Ramsay-trained wrecking ball punches so hard that Bivol marked up simply from his own gloves, whacking constantly against his face as he blocked the blows. In the end, did Dmitry run just a little too much for the liking of a trio of judges who often side with the come-forward aggressor or the man making sure a fight actually breaks out?
Possibly. These are definitely the best two fighters in the division and neither will be around forever. Let David Benavidez fight David Morrell and this pair of exiled Russian rebels can bash each other up for another 12 rounds, or less, in the meantime.
Beterbiev vs. Bivol undercard in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
After a tense 12-round draw filled with back-and-forth action, many expected the rematch between Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke to follow a similar pattern. Wardley was having none of it. Clarke may be an experienced Olympic amateur, but former white-collar boxer Wardley took things to the streets, battering Clarke so severely that he left a dent in the Burton man’s face and career prospects in one sub-three-minute burst.
While Jai Opetaia was supposed to successfully defend his IBF cruiserweight title, opponent Jack Massey was supposed to provide something of a test. Massey, after all, arrived as the European champion, a rugged warrior who can box a bit, too.
Opetaia won every second of every round, slicing the body with left hands, slicing up the face to such a degree that Massey’s coach, Joe Gallagher, threw in the towel. Opetaia is probably the best cruiser in the world and just needs the unification dance partners to prove it.
Another lengthy spell of inactivity for Chris Eubank Jr ended in a one-sided bludgeoning of Poland’s Kamil Szeremeta. Eubank Jr dropped Szeremeta early to the head, but once he repeatedly found an inviting body it was as good as over.
Looking drained for 160, Eubank Jr has always operated on the periphery of big-time boxing, losing to the best, never facing the true top dogs. The pantomime continues as Conor Benn (soon to be unbanned #justice) jumped into the ring to cement the fact that they will almost certainly fight next. The chosen weight could make it interesting.
Where do you start with Ben Whittaker? The showboating memes have now been replaced by images of him being transported from the ring in a wheelchair as the doubters circled and rejoiced as one united entity.
Whittaker looked decent early on, but he was really struggling to handle Liam Cameron when the bizarre ending occurred, and the pair fell out of the ring together. Previously compared to Naseem Hamed, catapulting over the ropes was a regular Naz special, so at least Ben is moving in the right direction as far as the optics go.
And finally…fair play to Skye Nicolson. The girl might not be able to punch, but she can surely box. A southpaw masterclass of rhythm, timing and distance control enabled her to defeat one-dimensional Raven Chapman and prevail on points over 10 rounds in what was the first female fistic foray into Riyadh Season.
Image credit: Top Rank/DAZN via Forbes + Manchester Evening News
A typically even-handed assessment from the savage one's Glenavy bunker. For my own part, I can't shake the feeling that the verdicts of many that Bivol shaded it show Beterbiev to be a victim of his own previous success and dominance. We've become so inured to seeing him wreck and stop opponents that when one avoids such a fate, there's a natural danger of concluding that they're doing better than they actually are. Just because AB didn't stop an opponent for once doesn't mean he didn't do enough or didn't find a way. It definitely warrants a rematch though, and there's a good chance it would produce a more definitive winner.
A typically even-handed assessment from the savage one's Glenavy bunker. For my own part, I can't shake the feeling that the verdicts of many that Bivol shaded it show Beterbiev to be a victim of his own previous success and dominance. We've become so inured to seeing him wreck and stop opponents that when one avoids such a fate, there's a natural danger of concluding that they're doing better than they actually are. Just because AB didn't stop an opponent for once doesn't mean he didn't do enough or didn't find a way. It definitely warrants a rematch though, and there's a good chance it would produce a more definitive winner.