Artur Beterbiev‘s knockout streak came to an end in his 21st fight, but he took it by majority decision against Dmitry Bivol to become the first undisputed light-heavyweight champion in decades.
After banking the first three rounds, Bivol started to feel the famed power of Beterbiev, who spent the entirety of the bout stalking his man and landing where he could.
The judges favoured the aggression and thudding shots despite a spirited effort from Bivol. Beterbiev took it on the scorecards (114-114, 115-113, 116-112), saying it was an ‘uncomfortable’ wait that he wasn’t used to. Bivol was humble in defeat, saying that he would say little because it could look like an excuse.
There were many swing rounds and opinion will be extremely split in the aftermath. Here are some initial reactions from the boxing world…
Ryan Garcia:
Terence Crawford:
Devin Haney:
