Promoter Eddie Hearn was furious after watching Dmitry Bivol lose a dubious 12-round majority decision to Artur Beterbiev on Saturday night in Riyadh.
What really got Hearn’s kettle boiling was the judge’s score of 8-4 for Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs), which he felt did not reflect what was happening inside the ring.
Hearn’s 8-4 score for Bivol
Hearn says he outscored Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) by a score of 8-4, which fans saw as even worse than the one he gave Beterbiev. The way Bivol folded in the latter half of the match makes it impossible to see him deserving the 8-4 score that Hearn gave him.
With all the movement Bivol used, he was still crumbling from the pressure of Beterbiev in rounds 8 through 12. This was with Bivol moving non-stop. What would have happened if Bivol had chosen to stand and fight Beterbiev? It’s something Hearn doesn’t mention because he’ll have to face the bigger truth.
On Saturday night, Bivol lost his WBA title to IBF, WBC and WBO light heavyweight champion Beterbiev, who is now the four-belt undisputed champion after beating him at the Kingdom Arena.
The scores
– 114-114
– 115-113
– 116-112
“Eddie Hearn always talks bad about me,” said Artur Beterbiev iFL TVand reacts to the fact that Eddie Hearn was not happy about the scorecards after his win over Dmitry Bivol. “Yes, I think so,” Beterbiev said when asked if he wanted a rematch with Bivol after being told that His Excellency Turki Alalshikh wanted a rematch.
“Maybe because the third guy, I beat him. Maybe that’s why he’s always complaining about me,” said Beterbiev about beating another of Hearn’s fighters.
It bothers Hearn that Beterbiev has beaten another one of his fighters, but this one is much worse to swallow because the loss destroyed Bivol’s chances of fighting Canelo Alvarez next. That fight would have made a bundle.
“He’s a lot more humble than me because if you work all your life and give a performance like that, it’s not right to have it taken away from you,” Eddie Hearn told iFL TV about his fighter Bivol.
“I had it 8-4, 7-5 (to Bivol), but for someone to score the fight 116-114, you give Dmitry Bivol four rounds in that fight. That judge should never work again,” Hearn continued. “It’s just unfortunate that it’s happening in the biggest fight and the biggest stage.
“He (Bivol) won’t say it, but I will say it. He should be the undisputed champion tonight without a doubt,” Hearn said.
The judges felt that Beterbiev was the better fighter, and they made the right choice. Bivol was tired and couldn’t fight hard enough in the later part of the fight when he needed to be aggressive.
“He hits hard, but not like people describe him as hitting hard,” Bivol said when asked about Beterbiev’s power,” Bivol said. “Yes, it’s difficult. Look at my eye. He landed a lot of punches on my left hand, and you can see my bruises. Yes, he is hard, but we can handle these hard blows.”
“His Excellency said: ‘Wrong decision. We’re doing the rematch,” Hearn said. “Fingers crossed, he keeps his word. I’m sick of him. He is an incredible sportsman. The way he’s taking this defeat is much better than I would take it, but that’s the kind of man he is. Respect to both fighters. This man should be undisputed champion tonight.”
Bivol was wilted
The judges had the final say, and they felt that Bivol had not done enough to win the competition. If Bivol hadn’t lost his nerve and gotten timid in the last five rounds, he might have won. He spent rounds 8 through 12 on the run, trying to keep from being forced into submission. If Bivol had shown bravery, he would have been knocked out for wilting, even with the running he did.
