IBF, WBC and WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) won a 12-round majority decision over WBA champion Dmitri Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) for the undisputed 175-lb championship Saturday night to conquer at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The scores for Beterbiev were 114-114, 115-113 and 116-112. I had it 115-113 for Bivol.
In the first round, Bivol used an effective jab, while Beterbiev landed a right to the chin in the final blow. A bivol round.
In the second round, Bivol took the first minute, but halfway to the end of the round, Beterbiev took over and took the round. In the third round, Bivol came back well and landed straight rights to the chin on several occasions. Beterbiev had problems with Bivol’s hand speed. A bivol round.
In the fourth round, Bivol landed combinations, while Beterbiev landed one punch at a time. Bivol’s round. In the fifth round it was all Beterbiev landing more than one at a time. In the sixth round, Beterbiev landed body shots, which was a good round for him.
In the seventh round, Bivol stayed in front of Beterbiev and boxed him out. Midway Bivol got five unanswered hits. Again, with a minute left, Bivol landed four straight punches and then broke away, allowing Beterbiev to take over in Bivol’s round, albeit close.
In the eighth round, Beterbiev came back well in another even round. He would switch to the south side when Bivol was on the ropes. In this round, Bivol’s left eye begins to swell slightly. In the ninth round, Bivol used his footwork and avoided some of Beterbiev’s punching power. A left hook from Bivol halfway to the chin was effective. Beterbiev seems to have a better round in the last minute in a close round.
In the tenth round, Bivol did well until the last thirty seconds. There are few claws for referee Thomas Taylor, who is possibly the best in the business. In the eleventh round it was all Beterbiev. Referee Taylor warned Bivol for pulling Beterbiev’s head down with a minute left.
In the twelfth and final round, the fans had previously continued to shout for Bivol. Beterbiev had a solid round with Bivol’s bruise under his left eye the only real mark between them on their faces. It was a close one, even though Bivol seemed to have an edge overall.
WBC World Feather Champion Skye Nicolson (11-0, 1 KO) defeated Raven Chapman (9-1, 2 KO) by a ten round unanimous decision.
Score 99-91, 98-92 twice.
Light heavyweight Ben Whitaker (8-0-1, 5 KOs) fought to a five-round draw against Liam ‘Cannonball’ Cameron (23-6-1, 10 KOs) of a scheduled ten rounds.
Score 58-57 each and 58-58
Both tumbled through the top rope in the fifth round, with Whitaker suffering a leg injury.
IBF World Cruiserweight Champion southpaw Jai Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs) won by technical stoppage over Jack ‘One Smack’ Massey (22-2, 12 KOs) at 2:00 of the 6th round of a scheduled 12 round bout.
Fabio Wardley (18-0-1, 17 KOs) stopped Frazer Clarke (8-1-1, 6 KOs) at 2:28 of the first round of the scheduled 12-rounder.
In the first round, a big right from Wardley leveled Clarke for the knockout.
IBO Middleweight Champion Chris Eubank, Jr. (34-3, 25 KOs) knocked out Kamil Szeremeta (25-3-2, 8 KOs) at 1:50 in seven rounds of a scheduled 12-rounder to win the IBO title.
In the first and sixth rounds, Eubanks scored knockouts. In the seventh, two strikeouts ended the fight.
Super featherweight Mohammed Alakel (1-0) defeated Jesus Gonzalez (3-3 (0) over four rounds.
 won a 12-round majority decision over WBA champion Dmitry Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) to){kind=link}