2024-10-12 23:10:03
On Saturday, the light heavyweight division will crown an undisputed champion for the first time in 25 years.
The division’s two best fighters, Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol will fight for all the belts in a scintillating clash of styles that pits one of boxing’s best defensive fighters in Bivol against one of the sport’s hardest punchers in Beterbiev.
The fight has long been marinating and fans were made to wait an additional four months after Beterbiev ruptured his meniscus, which delayed the bout from its original June date. Bivol fought in June, scoring his first knockout win since 2018, while Beterbiev last fought in January, knocking out top contender Callum Smith.
Stay tuned below for live updates throughout the Beterbiev vs. Bivol fight card.
Both fighters flipped over the ropes at the end of Round 5 and Whittaker seemingly suffered a right leg injury in the process. His shoe is off in the ring as doctors look at him and now his gloves are being taken off. The fight will be called and is going to the scorecards through five rounds. Cameron will certainly have a strong shot to hand Whittaker his first loss after five hard fought rounds. Whittaker is now being taken out of the ring in a wheelchair, before the scorecards have been read. Result will be posted above as announced and further updates to come.
Cameron’s reach is helping him to get around Whittaker’s guard at close range and land to the body. Whittaker going to work on the inside, but Cameron countering with some hard shots. Whittaker is warned by the referee for low blows inside the final minute. Cameron finishes the round with a couple hard right hands. They clinch up as the bell rings and both fighters fall backwards over the ropes and out of the ring. Cameron was pushing forward while clinched and Whittaker fell back against the ropes and out of the ring, taking Cameron with him.
Whittaker planting his feet and trading for the most part, a strategy which seems to favor Cameron. He’s landing on the inside but taking damage back from Cameron, who looks comfortable using his reach advantage at close range. More output coming from Whittaker but about equal damage being dealt between the two.
Whittaker catches Cameron with a strong counter right hand inside 30 seconds that seemed to buzz him. Cameron landing some good punches on the inside, finding success targeting the body of Whittaker. Whittaker has moved around the ring less this round, opting to stand and trade. He’s landing plenty of shots but Cameron has caught him more than once.
Whittaker having success with the jab early in the round. Cameron has a moment inside two minutes, landing a handful of shots as Whittaker stands in the center of the ring and allows pressure. Whittaker using his legs to spin out of danger and unload punches, but Cameron has responded with a few hard shots this round.
Whittaker moving in and out, avoiding the pressure of Cameron as he picks his spots to unload quick combinations. Cameron not throwing a ton of shots, but looks to have some power on the ones he does throw, which Whittaker is cautious of. Good start for Whittaker, he thoroughly outlanded Cameron.
The Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol main event fight will stream exclusively on ESPN+ in the United States, while the undercard will be streaming separately on DAZN pay-per-view for $19.99, a late change after the undercard was originally set to be free for all DAZN subscribers.
Watch Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol on ESPN+
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This weekend’s Riyadh Season fight card, headlined by Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol, will begin at 11 a.m. (CT) on DAZN. The main event ring walks on ESPN+ are expected at approximately 5 p.m. (CT).
The Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol fight undercard will be streamed separately on DAZN and features a pair of world title fights along with some of the biggest names in British boxing.
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Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol’s undisputed light heavyweight title fight will take place at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Bivol’s last two fights both took place at Kingdom Arena, while Beterbiev has never fought in Saudi Arabia.
Being two of the best fighters on the planet, the oddsmakers don’t see much separating Beterbiev and Bivol. Bivol is just favored to win at -125 on BetMGM, while Beterbiev is +110 to win the bout.
Odds via BetMGM, as of Oct. 10
This fight is about as 50-50 as they come. It’s, in my opinion, the best fight that can currently be made in boxing due to the pedigree of each fighter along with their intriguing stylistic differences.
Bivol’s best shot at winning is to do what he does best, which is box. He’ll want to avoid letting Beterbiev inside at all costs and his best punch, the jab, will surely be working overtime. Beterbiev isn’t a one-dimensional fighter though and can certainly find success from the midrange, but ultimately Bivol will have the advantage when fighting from range.
Beterbiev will likely spend a fair share of the fight boxing from the midrange, but he’ll pose a major threat stepping inside and unloading his vicious power punches. Beterbiev will have his chances to inflict damage. How few and far between those chances come could determine the fight.
Predictions: Beterbiev def. Bivol by TKO-11; Chris Eubank def. Kamil Szeremeta by KO-6; Fabio Wardley def. Frazier Clarke by SD; Jai Opetaia def. Jack Massey by UD;
Dmitry Bivol is 23-0 with 12 wins by knockout.
Bivol was elevated to full WBA champion in 2017 after having previously held the interim title since 2016. Bivol has defended his title 12 times, most notably against Canelo Alvarez in 2022, handing Alavrez his second career loss.
Bivol is ranked No. 2 at light heavyweight and No. 7 pound-for-pound by The Ring, while he’s ranked No. 1 at light heavyweight and No. 4 pound-for-pound by ESPN.
Dmitry Bivol is 33 years old and stands at 6-foot with a 72-inch reach.
Bivol has fought at light heavyweight his entire career, which has a maximum weight limit of 175 pounds. Bivol weighed in at exactly 175 pounds in his last fight and typically weighs in just below the divisional limit.
Artur Beterbiev is 20-0 with 20 wins by knockout.
Beterbiev first won the IBF light heavyweight in 2017 over Enrico Koelling and went on to unify it with the WBC title with a win over Oleksandr Gvozdyk in 2019. Beterbiev then collected the WBO belt in 2022 with a win over Joe Smith Jr. and has defended his unified titles three times.
Beterbiev is ranked No. 1 at light heavyweight and No. 6 pound-for-pound by The Ring. He’s ranked No. 2 at light heavyweight and No. 6 pound-for-pound by ESPN.
Artur Beterbiev is 39 years old and stands at 5-foot-11 with a 73-inch reach.
Like Bivol, Beterbiev has spent his entire career at light heavyweight and has weighed in right at the division’s 175-pound limit in three of his last four fights.
Dmitry Bivol is a technical boxer with elite defense, both traits that show in his statistics.
Bivol has the third best plus/minus in boxing with +17.8, meaning he lands 17.8 more shots on his opponents, than he gets hit with. Bivol works his offense behind his jab, which he lands 8.8 times per round, more than any other fighter. He’s seventh among active boxers in jab connect percentage, landing 24.9% of his jabs.
In terms of defense, Bivol’s opponents land just six punches per round, third fewest in the sport, while his opponents land those shots at a 13% rate, the lowest opponent connect percentage in all of boxing.
Stats via Compubox
Beterbiev has a plus/minus of +10.4 and lands 19.4 punches per round at a 31.8% rate. Despite being one of the sport’s most destructive punchers, Beterbiev only lands 13 power punches per round, connecting at a 38.1% rate.
While at times Beterbiev has taken damage in fights, his opponents land just 8.7 punches per round, connecting on 21.4% of their total punches and 30.6% of power punches.
Stats via Compubox
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Harrison Campbell covers boxing for The Tennessean and high school sports for The Daily Herald. Email him at hcampbell@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @hccamp.
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