Bivol vs Beterbiev breakdown - Back and forth war sees Beterbiev reign supreme as undisputed champion

Fight between the best of the best could have gone either way, with their rivalry far from finished

It was a fight years in the making, with the undeniably top two rated Light Heavyweights and top ten pound for pound stars Dmitrii Bivol (23-0-0 12KO), WBA Champion and Artur Beterbiev (20-0-0 20KO), WBC, WBO and IBF ruler, finally locking horns, to determine the first ever undisputed Light Heavyweight champion of the four-belt era.

Often fights of this magnitude fail to live up the grandeur of the occasion, yet last night, Saturday October 13th, we witnessed an epic encounter fought at the pinnacle of pugilistic technique, ring IQ, heart and determination.

It was a bout which ebbed and flowed all the way to the final bell, with arguably the hardest puncher in the sport, Beterbiev, going the full 12 rounds for the first time in his career, getting the nod via a razor thin majority decision, that in reality could have gone either way without controversy.

The ferocious battle could almost be segmented into four quarters. The first three rounds saw Bivol get off to a fantastic start, taking advantage of Beterbiev’s customary feeling out process. Bivol established a ram rod lead hand jab, quickly began to deploy a sharp straight right behind it, before gradually bringing a crisp left hook into play as well as an occasional flashy three or four punch combination.

Beterbiev on the other hand, was far more refrained with his output, seemingly happy for Bivol to take a three-point lead, however simply by staying in range throughout, he was forcing the WBA champion to get on his bike, bounce around the ring and exert a high work rate in order to stay on top.

The start of the fourth round saw the Montreal residing knockout artist come out with a renewed vigour, aware that he couldn’t allow Bivol to keep building this early lead. Beterbiev was maintaining the pressure with his feet, however he was now following it up with clubbing attacks round the sides of Bivol’s near impenetrable guard. The cleaner, more eye-catching shots, were still coming from the slicker, former Canelo conqueror, but you sensed a swinging momentum as Beterbiev upped the output slightly with each passing round. During his now more frequent swarming attacks, one surprise was his lack of level changes, seemingly happy to swing away at Bivol’s high guard. Perhaps the fact that Bivol chooses to block and parry as oppose to slip and evade made him feel he was getting closer to landing a fight ending shot flush on the chin, underestimating the toughness of his fellow countryman.

Round seven was one of the best rounds of the fight, and one where which way you scored it could have been a deciding factor. Sensing a shift in momentum, Bivol came out like a man possessed, getting back to what was bringing success in the early rounds and reestablishing his authority with sharp straight shots and vicious combinations, even now holding his feet at times. The first two and a half minutes were all Bivol, even backing Beterbiev up against the ropes. Then he got greedy. Feeling he could have had his man hurt, whilst attempting to unleash his own barrage of shots, Bivol walked into a hard right hand and left hook to follow which shook him to his boots. He was still solid on his feet and aware of his surroundings, but against a puncher as lethal as Beterbiev you can’t take any chances. Knowing his ruthless opponent would sense blood, Bivol went on the defensive and weathered a heavy barrage of hooks and uppercuts for the final 30, potentially cancelling out his best two and a half minutes of the fight.

Round eight was quieter, where for me Bivol regrouped to edge out another tight round, with the ninth being another great round for the sharpshooting long range boxer, as he looked to have halted a growing Beterbiev resurgence between four to seven.

Heading into round ten, I had the fight 86-85 for Bivol, which was clearly the feeling in Beterbiev’s corner, with trainer Marc Ramsay instructing his man that he needed a knockout. This gave his fighter the shot in the foot he needed, as he got back to what had brought him so much earlier success. All three judges gave rounds ten to twelve for Beterbiev, where he really put his foot on the gas and was now the far busier fighter, where perhaps the constant movement and work rate he had forced out of Bivol earlier in the fight paid dividends. I still actually felt Bivol landed enough to eek out a razor thin tenth round, but eleven and twelve were clear Beterbiev rounds, which on my card levelled things out to six rounds a piece.

There were a lot of rounds where it really depends if you preferred the calculated aggression and more thudding shots from Beterbiev, or the movement and sharper straight shots from Bivol. Come the final bell, the general feeling was perhaps that a drawer would be the fairest outcome. If I had to pick a winner, I personally would have leant to Bivol, and after hearing the ludicrous 116-112 card read out, I felt sure the decision would go his way, as I just felt it unfathomable to only give him four rounds, when for me 1-3, 8 and 9 saw him clearly have the edge.

This wasn’t to be the case however, as much to Eddie Hearn’s dismay, it was Artur Beterbiev who was granted a majority decision victory.

It was a fight where it was a shame to see either man lose, and you get the sense this chapter is far from over. His excellency Turki Al ’Sheikh already confirmed post-fight that he will look to make the rematch, in what promises to be another evenly fought battle between these perfectly matched, elite technicians.

I see no reason why the rematch would not take place, unless Artur Beterbiev feels he has nothing more to prove, and at age 39 choses to walk away at his peak. The money that will come with the rematch however, will likely make this an impossible decision, whilst for me he is the man with the most room to make adjustments. Now he has got a feel for Bivol’s style, he shouldn’t take three rounds to warm up, whilst his neglect of body work will also be something he reassesses going into the second fight. Bivol will also take confidence that he can inflict a different outcome in a return, having felt and handled Beterbiev’s power and having sustained spurts of superiority of his own.

It seems that this rivalry has only further intensified after one of the fights of the year in Riyadh, which failed to provide us with a conclusive victor, but for the next few months at least, with all four belts in the possession of one man, the Light Heavyweight division has one true king. Artur Beterbiev.