In a 100% Russian fight which promised a great spectacle, no KO but a winner: Artur Beterbiev won against Dmitry Bivol by split decision and unified the belts. But his victory does not convince everyone.
Already holder of the WBC, IBF and WBO belts, Artur Beterbiev adds the WBA light heavyweight title to his list of achievements. The Russian dominated his compatriot Dmitry Bivol this Saturday evening in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. But while everyone was expecting a knockout in this duel between two explosive fighters, it was a split decision (115-113, 116-112 and 114-114).
A very close fight… which would have deserved a draw?
More power from Beterbiev, more explosiveness and speed from Bivol and everyone has their big highlight… so much so that many were betting on a draw that only one of the three judges awarded. Some even put Bivol in front, like former British boxer Tony Bellew on . Very nice combinations, a great fight And Beterbiev was incredible, almost 40 years old and he finished the fights like he was 20 years old!
The loser was in any case a good player and above all opened the door to a rematch: “I am a warrior, I have no explanations because that would look like excuses,” he declared on DAZN . “I don’t know, I did my job even if I have the feeling that I could have done even better. But that’s the opinion of some judges. Congratulations to Artur, he is very powerful. I I have a bruise on my hand because it was so solid when I hit. Why not?
“I’m lucky”
As for the winner, he recognizes a delicate fight: “How are you? Not too bad. But I wasn’t good today. I would have liked to show more quality in my boxing. I will be better in the future. Obviously it was a difficult fight, Dmitry is a tough champion, he has better skills than me. During the fight, we were trying to change things but I didn’t land enough shots. today.”
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