Beterbiev edges Bivol to become undisputed champion

Artur Beterbiev defeated Dmitry Bivol by majority decision to become the undisputed world light heavyweight champion in one of boxing’s most anticipated fights that lived up to the hype in Saudi Arabia.

In a contest that could have gone either way, Bivol, 33, won the earlier rounds with his superior movement and combinations.

Fellow undefeated Russian Beterbiev, 39, was unfazed and fought his way back into the fight with relentless pressure and powerful punches.

With scores of 114-114, 115-113 and 116-112, Beterbiev becomes the division’s first undisputed champion since 2002, and the first in the four-belt era.

“I don’t feel bad. Today I didn’t do well. I wanted to box with more quality,” said a modest Beterbiev, who is now champion of the WBC, the WBA (Super), the IBF and the WBO.

Bivol was defeated for the first time in 24 fights.

“I’m a warrior. I don’t know, I did my job but I felt like I could do it better, but it was just the opinion of some judges,” he said.

In main support, Fabio Wardley retained the British heavyweight title with a spectacular first-round knockout victory over Frazer Clarke in a rematch of March contender for fight of the year.

Wardley, 29, landed a hard right hand to hurt the challenger and dropped him with another fierce right hand.

A dazed Clarke stood up admirably, but was in no condition to continue when the referee stopped the fight.

A fight for purists meets expectations

Two undefeated champions with different but equally effective styles produced a top-level matchup in a fight that had the boxing purist salivating.

An alert Bivol shined from the start as he circled the ring, working behind the jab and landing smart combinations.

Despite his menacing power, two-time Olympian Beterbiev’s boxing skills often go unnoticed. He continued to walk Bivol down and landed a ferocious body shot in the fifth.

Just when it looked like Bivol was tiring, he responded with a flurry of shots to momentarily stop the pressure, but Beterbiev didn’t back down.

Both champions were injured in a fantastic seventh. A Bivol combination stunned Beterbiev, who sprang into action seconds later to end the round with some ferocious power shots.

Beterbiev’s corner told him he needed a knockdown as the fight entered the championship rounds.

He couldn’t find the finishing blow to maintain his perfect knockout record, but he finished the fight on top, winning the 10th, 11th and 12th rounds on all three judges’ scorecards.

Beterbiev’s historic victory in the Middle East certainly cements his place among light heavyweight’s all-time greats, but in such a close and entertaining fight, there will be a clamor from the boxing fraternity for a rematch.

However, Bivol promoter Eddie Hearn said he was “disgusted” by the decision.

“I mean no disrespect to Beterbiev, but that judge should never work again,” Hearn said.

“They’re both tremendous fighters. No one in our line made Beterbiev win. We got in the ring and I looked at Beterbiev and everyone was deflated.”

Wardley clears Clarke in one round

Wardley and Clarke couldn’t separate themselves in their action-packed first fight on Easter Sunday, but the rematch was as clinical as they come.

Olympian Clarke leaned on his amateur base with a clever double jab in the first minute, but Wardley, who fought only a handful of unlicensed white collar fights before turning pro, unleashed raw power to score his 17th stoppage. in 18 victories.

“I have dynamite power in each hand. Once I hurt someone, I know I can get rid of them,” said the undefeated Wardley, who won his 18th professional fight.

Clarke received medical assistance in the ring before coming over to congratulate the champion. The 2020 Olympic bronze medalist left before the result was announced.

“I can’t help it, war by name and war by nature,” Wardley said. “Once I have wounded my enemies, there will be no help for them unless the bell rings.”

Now it surpasses the national level and plans to embark on a path towards the world level.

With Wardley and IBF champion Daniel Dubois, and prospects like Moses Itauma, the future looks bright for British heavyweight boxing.

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