Riyadh ¨C Russian Dmitry Bivol avenged a previous defeat to take the undisputed light heavyweight world title from Artur Beterbiev via a majority decision in an epic rematch in Saudi Arabia on Sunday.
The judges scored the fight in Riyadh 114-114, 116-112 and 115-113.
The previous encounter last October, when both went toe-to-toe as unbeaten champions, ended with exactly the same score but in favor of Russian-born Canadian Beterbiev, who added the WBA belt to his WBC, WBO and IBF titles.
This time Bivol, 34, was the better fighter, moving up a gear and taking the fight to his bearded older opponent, now 40, with determination and classy combinations.
The 1-1 split in the first two fights opens the path to an inevitable third clash between the two.
¡°Actually I didn¡¯t want the second fight, it wasn¡¯t my choice, but no problem,¡± Beterbiev, who did not shake Bivol¡¯s hand, said in the ring after the scores were announced. ¡°We¡¯re going to do a third fight.¡±
Bivol said he was up for any challenge but needed a rest after his exertions.
¡°I want to heal myself a little bit and come back,¡± said the Russian, who ended the fight with blood streaming from over his left eye.
¡°I didn¡¯t have as much pressure like last time. I just wanted to work from the first round until the end of the 12th. I did enough, and I won this.
¡°I was better, I was pushing myself more, I was more confident, I was lighter, and I just wanted to win so much today.¡±
Bivol had the better of his opponent over the first three rounds, but the champion found his rhythm in the fourth in a livelier fight than the first one.
At the final bell, neither boxer could be sure of the outcome, with both waiting for the scores to be read without celebrating in advance.
¡°I don¡¯t want to talk about the decision, it¡¯s tough,¡± Beterbiev said. ¡°Congratulations to Bivol¡¯s team.
¡°I thought this fight was better than the first fight, but we¡¯ll see. Now is my time to come back.¡±
Earlier, three-time world champion Shakur Stevensonretained his WBC lightweight title after stopping stand-in Josh Padley, a British electrician who had three days to prepare for the fight, at the end of nine rounds.
Former WBO world heavyweight champion Joseph Parker stopped another late replacement Martin Bakole in two rounds in their WBO Interim bout.
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