Artur Beterbiev beats Dmitry Bivol on majority factors to mix the WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF belts on the combat in Riyadh.
Russian-born Canadian boxer Artur Beterbiev has been topped the undisputed light-heavyweight world champion after he beat his Russian rival Dmitry Bivol on a majority factors choice in Saudi Arabia.
Two of the three ringside judges scored the combat 115-113 and 116-112 to Beterbiev, whereas the opposite known as it tied at 114-114 at Riyadh’s Kingdom Enviornment on Saturday.
Each males had been beforehand undefeated, with 33-year-old Bivol holding the WBA belt and Beterbiev, 39, the reigning WBC, WBO and IBF champion.
By taking the bearded Beterbiev to a full 12 rounds within the Saudi capital, Bivol grew to become the primary man to go the gap in opposition to a champion with a earlier one hundred pc document of profitable by knockout or stoppage.
“I wished to field extra, I don’t like this combat. I used to be slightly bit uncomfortable,” Beterbiev mentioned after his win.
“I felt uncomfortable as a result of normally I’m not ready for the bell.”
The headline conflict, postponed from final June after Montreal-based Beterbiev suffered a knee harm, put the 4 recognised main belts within the palms of 1 man for the primary time.
The final undisputed gentle heavyweight champion was American Roy Jones Jr, who beat Reggie Johnson to unify the WBA, WBC and IBF belts in 1999.
Bivol made himself a transferring goal in a high-quality combat between the large punching and aggressive Beterbiev and a extra fluid rival who landed eye-catching early blows and had the higher of the early rounds.
There was little between the 2 on the midway level, with Beterbiev presumably behind however each spherical a detailed name in a combat in need of fireworks however with loads for the purists.
Beterbiev knew he needed to shut with a bang within the final two rounds and raised the tempo however Bivol hung in there and fired again some highly effective combos.
“I simply congratulate Artur and his crew, he deserves it,” Bivol, who expects a attainable rematch, mentioned after the combat.
“I did my job, I felt I might do higher, I at all times really feel I can do higher, however that’s the opinion of the judges. He received.”
A combat for the ages! Congratulations to our Champion, Arthur Beterbiev on changing into undisputed ruler of the Lt. Heavyweight division. Congratulations additionally to Dimitri Bivol on a really spectacular effort that saved combat followers on the fringe of their seats. pic.twitter.com/mz2A67wKlb
— WBO (@WorldBoxingOrg) October 13, 2024
Australia’s Jai Opetaia earlier retained his IBF cruiserweight world title when Jack Massey’s nook threw within the towel two minutes into the sixth spherical with the crushed Briton bleeding from a reduce to the facet of his nostril.
The convincing win took Opetaia’s document to 26-0.
Unbeaten Australian Skye Nicolson received the primary girls’s world title combat held in Saudi Arabia when she defended her WBC featherweight belt in opposition to Britain’s Raven Chapman in a unanimous factors choice.
A lightweight heavyweight combat between Britons Ben Whittaker and Liam Cameron resulted in a draw after each crashed out of the ring, whereas Fabio Wardley stopped Frazer Clarke within the first spherical of their British heavyweight title combat.
