In a rematch of their thrilling original meeting, Dmitry Bivol became the new undisputed light heavyweight champion, as he took a deserved majority decision win against Artur Beterbiev at ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The pair met in October 2024, where Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs) took a majority decision win over Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) that could have gone either way as Beterbiev added Bivol’s WBA ‘super’ belt to his WBC, IBF and WBO baubles to complete the set of titles.
Bivol started well off the jab, in what was a cagey opening round, but his rival closed the distance swiftly, working well to the body, although the challenger landed with some crisp right hands in round two.
Beterbiev’s blows were meatier, but the 34-year-old’s output was greater, and the two opened up to close the third round.
The champion came out firing to start the fourth, constantly coming forward, and he was unloading with solid shots that were finding the mark to both head and body, turning the screw by setting a frenetic pace.
Bivol landed with a nice right hook in the fifth, but Beterbiev ended the session on top as he let his hands go to good effect, and the sixth saw Bivol enjoy a better round with his jab, although his best power shots were having few effects on the champion.
Bivol shaded the seventh, and he was starting to connect with his combination punches in his best round to date in the eighth, as his 40-year-old rival’s frantic workrate began to slow down, with the ninth seeing Bivol outbox him.
Beterbiev, sensing he was behind, poured on the pressure in the final round as he attempted to put in one last big effort, and the bell sounded to a standing ovation from the crowd, as the fight went to the cards.
A 114-114 card was overruled by scores of 116-112 and 115-113 in Bivol’s favour, which was the exact same scoring for Beterbiev in their first meeting.
A trilogy bout is surely the logical next step for both.
“I’m just so happy,” Bivol said to DAZN.
“I was better. I was pushing myself more.
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“I was more confident. I was lighter and I just wanted to win so much.”
“I didn’t want a second fight” Beterbiev told DAZN.
“It wasn’t my choice.
“But no problem. We’re going to do a third fight.”
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Parker destroys Bakole
Joseph Parker shrugged off the disappointment of his IBF heavyweight title fight with Daniel Dubois being scrapped two days before fight night, as the New Zealander fought on and knocked out late replacement Martin Bakole in the second round of their meeting.
Bakole (21-2, 16 KOs) chugged forward and threw heavy shots at Parker (36-3, 24 KOs), but the 33-year-old found a massive right hand in the second that landed on the top of Bakole’s head, and it robbed the Congolese of his legs, as he collapsed to the deck.
The fight was wisely waved off, as Parker retained his interim WBO strap.
Stevenson stops Padley
Josh Padley gave a gutsy account of himself at three days’ notice, but Shakur Stevenson kept his WBC lightweight title with a ninth round stoppage win.
Padley (15-1, 4 KOs) came in for Floyd Schofield, who was ruled out through illness, and he battled hard against Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs), who eventually ground the Englishman down.
A left to the body finally broke Padley’s resistance in the ninth, and he was down again shortly after the resumption, this time from a right to the mid-section.
A third body shot knockdown forced the towel to come in from the 29-year-old’s corner.
Stevenson will be seeking a unification with WBA champion, Gervonta Davis, who defends his title against Lamont Roach in Brooklyn on March 1.
Sheeraz-Adames held to draw
Hamzah Sheeraz was bidding to become WBC middleweight champion, but Carlos Adames retained his title, with their contest declared a three-way split draw.
Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KOs) started well, but Adames (24-1-1, 18 KOs) warmed to his task, and took over past the halfway mark, as the Brit struggled to impose himself.
Adames looked to be a handy winner in the end, but a score of 118-110 for the 30-year-old, and a 115-114 nod for Sheeraz was cancelled out by a third score at 114-114, as the fight was ruled a stalemate.
Ortiz Jr overcomes Madrimov
Vergil Ortiz Jr went the championship distance for a second straight fight, and defended his WBC interim super welterweight title against Israil Madrimov with a win on the scorecards.
Ortiz Jr (23-0, 21 KOs) largely bossed the first half of the contest, and although Madrimov (10-2-1, 7 KOs) came into the argument, the American ran out the winner by two scores of 115-113, and a third judge scored it 117-111 in his favour.
The 26-year-old is now in line for a showdown with unified WBC and WBO champion, Sebastian Fundora.
Kabayel KO’s Zhang
Agit Kabayel took the interim WBC heavyweight title, taking another impressive scalp by knocking out Zhilei Zhang in the sixth round of their clash.
Kabayel (26-0, 18 KOs) dominated the early going, but Zhang remained dangerous, and he found a huge chopping left hand in the fifth that dropped the German.
The 32-year-old regrouped though, and an accumulation of punches, mainly to the body, forced a fading Zhang (27-3-1, 22 KOs) to the canvas, where he couldn’t beat the referee’s count.
Smith sees off Buatsi after classic
In a bout that would have made main event status almost anywhere else, Joshua Buatsi (19-1, 13 KOs) and Callum Smith (31-2, 2 KOs2) opened the main card here, and the pair didn’t disappoint, with a fight of the year contender going the way of Smith, who took the interim WBO light heavyweight title with a thrilling points win.
Round six was simply breathtaking, with Smith having the Londoner out on his feet after a right hand severely buzzed him, but the 31-year-old found a stunning left hand that wobbled ‘Mundo’ towards the end of the session.
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Both understandably began to tire down the stretch, but Smith seemed marginally ahead, and a pulsating contest went the distance, with the two going toe-to-toe until the last bell sounded.
One judge scored a way too wide 119-110, with the remaining judges tallying 116-112 and 115-113, all in Smith’s favour.
Remaining Undercard
In six rounders, Ziyad Almaayouf (7-0-1, 1 KO) bounced back from a draw in his last contest, as he won every session of his super lightweight meeting with Jonatas Rodrigo Gomes de Oliveira (6-21, 5 KOs), and lightweight novice, Mohammed Alakel (3-0) won by the same score against Engel Gomez (8-43-3, 4 KOs).
