At the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Saturday night, Dmitry Bivol became the undisputed light heavyweight title by defeating his opponent by majority decision, exacting revenge for his defeat to Artur Beterbiev in October 2024.
Beterbiev won by a slim majority decision, and the rematch was scheduled 133 days later. The second bout was just as good as the first. Both boxers knew what the other had to give after their 36-minute encounter in the first battle. Instead of staying on his toes and moving around the ring, Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) made the first change by standing flat-footed in front of Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs). Early success came from the small change in approach because Bivol was quick behind the jab and stopped Beterbiev from unleashing his big blows.
However, 40-year-old Beterbiev persisted in pushing forward, making Bivol fight at a furious pace. Bivol was successful in combining multiple punches that broke through Beterbiev’s defense. Bivol was more aggressive, but the challenger started to tire from Beterbiev’s body striking. In the fifth round, Beterbiev put his foot firmly on the throttle and hammered blows into Bivol’s head and torso, causing him to move about the ring with each blow.
In the seventh round, the 34-year-old Bivol would settle himself and use combinations to support the jab. Beterbiev was forced to refocus and reconsider going forward after taking a short-left hook in the eighth round. Bivol would exploit his fatigued opponent by using clean combo punches in the middle of the ring as his punch output decreased.
In the championship rounds, Bivol appeared more youthful, therefore Beterbiev needed to do something to change the outcome of the bout. Beterbiev’s advances were stopped by Bivol’s deft and accurate punches. Bivol was busier to end the show than he was in the first round, when he let go of the fight. Late in the 12th round, Beterbiev made a desperate attempt to open a gash over Bivol’s left eye and shocked him with a right hand. However, Bivol clinched and prevented additional damage, thwarting Beterbiev’s last attack.
Bivol’s activity won over the judges with scores of 116-112, 115-113 and 114-114.
The WBO heavyweight interim championship was also won by Joseph Parker via second-round TKO over Martin Bakole. Additionally, Shakur Stevenson maintained his WBC lightweight title by TKOing Josh Padley in the ninth round.
