The official record will say that Dmitry Bivol won the undisputed light heavyweight title by gutting out a close and competitive 12 round majority decision versus Artur Beterbiev on Saturday in Saudi Arabia. Perhaps it would be more accurate to say that Bivol merely evened up their two fight series at one apiece.
Over 24 innings you can make an argument that each man has probably won right around a dozen rounds, and at least 18 or 19 of them have been very close. And they have each taken each other's '0' in successive fights.
I often lament that the days of rivalries in boxing are over. We will no longer see the likes of Ali-Frazier, Bowe-Holyfield, Barrera-Morales, Gatti-Ward, Pacquiao-Marquez and Canelo-GGG, but it has to be said, in these two sterling light heavyweights, we have a bona-fide rivalry.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
Coming into this bout, not only were they the top two boxers at 175, but they were four (Beterbiev) and five (Bivol) respectively in Ring Magazine's pound-for-pound rankings. I get the sense that they will probably flip their positions in their next set of ratings. Which would be justified, there is very little, if anything, that is separating the two.
The rematch saw Bivol win the first two rounds as he set his feet a bit more in the center of the ring. The logic being that by doing so, he would try and blunt the inevitable forward momentum that Beterbiev is known for. But the next few rounds were controlled by the defending champion, who started to back up Bivol and nail him with those heavy hammers of his. Around the fifth and six frames, it almost looked inevitable that Beterbiev was on his way to victory.
But to his credit, Bivol steeled himself and began to turn the tide as he boxed effectively, and did just enough offensively to keep Beterbiev at bay. But while Bivol perhaps landed more punches, the harder ones still belonged to Beterbiev, who remained dangerous throughout.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
The consensus is that Bivol rallied from the seventh to the 11th, unlike their first encounter back in October, he had a stronger finishing kick. But the final round was won by Beterbiev, who cut Bivol with one of his hard right hands.
As the fight ended, you got the sense that once again this was going to be a close decision. This time around it was Bivol who got the nod by the scores of 115-113, 116-112 and 114-114. The scores were identical for the winner and loser in both fights, which speaks to just how similar the two bouts were in competitiveness.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TIamABjO8sw
There are still a swath of observers that believed Beterbiev should've gotten his hand raised in victory, just as there were more than a few who believe it was Bivol who deserved the victory in October. Perhaps it's poetic justice that they each have a victory in this series. It seems destined that they will eventually have a rubber match because well, that's what Turki Alalshikh wants. And what he wants, he pays (a lot) for.
For Bivol this is a satisfying victory after what was a devastating defeat in the fall. “The difference was me. I was better. I was pushing myself more. I was more confident and lighter. And I just wanted to win so much today," he said.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
While Beterbiev has to come to grips with his first professional defeat.
“I don’t know {what was different}. I think this fight was better than the first time," he stated,"Actually, I didn’t even want the second fight. It wasn’t my choice. But, no problem. We can do the third fight.”
QUICK HITTERS
Some rapid fire thoughts on what was a stacked card in Riyadh...
- The best pure fight of 'the Last Crescendo' card was the light heavyweight bout between Callum Smith and Joshua Buatsi, who battled over 12 rounds. While it opened up the main portion of this card for some reason, it provided the best pure 36 minutes of action on this show. It was Smith who controlled most of the action with his work rate and his well placed body shots but Buatsi was game and hurt Smith a few times but never was able to fully turn the tide of this contest. It was a good fight but Smith was the clear winner and is now the WBO interim champion at 175. His only two losses have come to Canelo Alvarez and Beterbiev.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
- Vergil Ortiz has staked his claim as the game's best junior middleweight by defeating Israil Madrimov (who gave Terence Crawford fits last summer). Ortiz now has consecutive wins over Serhii Bohachuk and now Madrimov. In addition to winning, Ortiz keeps fighting in entertaining fashion. It seems as though his health issues are a thing of the past.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
- It was a disappointing night for Hamzah Sheeraz who felt flat in his effort to win the WBC middleweight title from Carlos Adames. He was very fortunate to get a draw. But what was really eye-opening was that Alalshikh, who certainly wanted Sheeraz to win, was seen ringside seemingly giving the score to his corner in the late rounds as was losing the fight. Bottom line, that should never happen.
- Agit Kabayel is the heavyweight giant killer. He embellished that reputation by chopping down the lumbering Zhelei Zhang over six rounds. Kabayel isn't particularly big or powerful by today's standards, but nobody in the division does as good a job at going to the body as he does.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
- Shakur Stevenson took care of (very) late replacement Josh Padley in nine rounds. The big story here is that who in the world is going to take Floyd Schofield and his father seriously from this point forward?
- And finally, Joseph Parker continued his hot streak as he KO'd (very, very) late replacement, Martin Bakole, in two rounds with an overhand right that had Bakole on the floor, dazed and disorientated. For Bakole, it really was a no-lose situation as he picked up a nice paycheck and will still fight on a Riyadh Season show in May.
Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing
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