Dmitry Bivol beat Artur Beterbiev in their rematch at The Venue in Riyadh, becoming the sport’s newest undisputed champion in a fight that lived up to a genuinely difficult act to follow.
Bivol won a majority decision, with scorecards of 116-112 and 115-113 in his favour alongside a 114-114 draw card, to collect the WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO light heavyweight titles along with the IBO and Ring belts. It avenged his narrow defeat to Beterbiev from their first meeting and moved him to 24-1 with 12 knockouts, while Beterbiev slipped to 21-1.
A rematch that improved on an already good first fight
Photo: IMAGO
Where the first fight had been tense and cagey in stretches, this one was fought at a higher pace from the opening bell, with Bivol working behind a sharper jab and using lateral movement to keep Beterbiev turning. Beterbiev, as ever, looked for the single shot that could change the fight, and had moments in the middle rounds where his pressure told, but Bivol’s discipline in the championship rounds proved decisive on two of the three cards.
“I’m just so happy. I lost last year and I felt preparation was a little bit easier, maybe,” Bivol said afterwards. “The difference between the last fight and this one is just me. I was better and pushing myself more.”
Beterbiev gracious in defeat, but not done
Beterbiev, who turns 40 in 2025, was magnanimous immediately after the verdict was read. “This is tough. My congratulations to Bivol and his team. I think this fight was better than the first fight, but now’s my time to come back,” he said, before floating the idea of a decider. “We’re going to do a third fight if we need to.”
Given how close both fights have been on the scorecards, a trilogy fight makes obvious sense to promoters and fans alike, even with Beterbiev’s age becoming a growing part of the conversation around him.
What it means for the light heavyweight division
An undisputed champion at 175lbs gives the division a genuine focal point for the first time in years, and Bivol now sits among the sport’s clearest pound-for-pound cases. Riyadh Season’s continued willingness to fund fights of this calibre, rather than mismatches built purely for spectacle, has also done the division’s credibility no harm. Whether the decider happens next or Bivol looks elsewhere first, the light heavyweight picture is suddenly one of the most compelling in the sport.
