Photo Courtesy: Mikey Williams/Top Rank
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia — All hail the King.
Montreal-based wrecking ball Artur Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) became the undisputed light heavyweight world champion with a majority decision over Dmitry Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) on Saturday evening at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
This clash of unbeaten champions—with Beterbiev risking his WBC/IBF/WBO titles and Bivol defending his WBA strap—crowned the division’s first undisputed ruler since Roy Jones Jr. vanquished Reggie Johnson in 1999.
One judge had it 114-114, while two others scored it 115-113 and 116-112 for Beterbiev.
In the opening rounds, Bivol controlled the fight from the perimeter, while Beterbiev found himself on the receiving end of jabs and counter right hands. Beterbiev’s sporadic flurries kept Bivol honest as the action progressed, including a stiff jab that stunned him in the fifth.
A confident Bivol stood his ground in the seventh, unleashing a fusillade of punches. This stirred Beterbiev, who responded with a furious barrage that sent Bivol reeling for the rest of the round and set the tone for the eighth.
Bivol regained his form in the ninth, sticking and moving into the tenth. Beterbiev again cranked up the pace in the championship rounds and landed thudding blows around the guard. He won the last three rounds on all three judges’ cards to prevail by the slimmest of margins.
Beterbiev said, “I feel not bad. I did not good today. I wanted to box today with more quality. I don’t know why, but I didn’t like this fight. But I’ll be better one day.
“Of course, it’s a tough fight because Dmitry is a world champion, too. He has good skills, maybe better than me. But today, Allah chose me.
“You know, during the fight, we always try to change something. But, you know, maybe I just wanted to punch him. Maybe that’s why I’m not delivering more punches. I don’t know.
“If His Excellency wants it {a rematch}, then we can do it.”
Bivol said, “I am a warrior. I have to do everything perfect. And I don’t have any explanation because it could look like excuses. I just congratulate Artur and his team. He deserves it. No problem. I just have time to make another decision for my future. That’s it.
“I don’t know. I just did my job. I felt that I could have done better. I always could be better. It’s just the opinion of the judges. Congratulations, Artur. I didn’t see the fight. He won. What can I say?”
