The undisputed light heavyweight championship bout between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol was a high-level and spirited boxing match that ended in some controversy Saturday night as Beterbiev eked out a majority decision win.
Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) got out of the gates with a strong start, but Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) did a better job in the second half of the fight and the judges awarded him the victory with scores of 116-112 and 115-113, while a third judge had it 114-114. Ten of the 12 rounds were scored identically as the busier Beterbiev landed 137 of 682 of his punches while Bivol connected with 142 of 423 of his shots.
Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn, Bivol's promoter, was disgusted with the result.
"We saw one of the greatest fights and examples of our sport," Hearn said during the post-fight press conference in Saudi Arabia. "I don't want to disrespect Artur Beterbiev, because he's an incredible fighter. But I find it sickening that after a lifetime of hard work, Dmitry Bivol is not the undisputed champion. He won that fight. I struggled to find anyone who didn't score the fight to Bivol. ... I'm not saying it's a robbery of a decision. But I don't see how you can give Beterbiev six rounds in that fight."
Hearn said Polish judge Pawel Kardyni, who scored the fight 116-112, "should never work in the sport again."
Bivol's manager, Vadim Kornilov, added that "when [Kardyni] comes back from Chechnya, he should be suspended."
Beterbiev was seen celebrating following the win with Ramzan Kadyrov, head of the Chechen Republic.
Hearn said that Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia, previously had noted that if the fight ended in a wrong decision, a rematch would be in store. Alalshikh said after the fight that he thought Bivol won 115-113 and that he would try to green-light a rematch.
"We know he's a man of his word," Hearn said of Alalshikh. "There has to be a rematch. What other fight is there for Beterbiev? It was an absolute boxing masterclass and a perfect performance by Bivol. And you know what? It can be better. It was a pure show of concentration, skill and defense, with offense thrown in."
Bivol sat at the dais with bruises around his eyes trying to process the first loss of his professional career.
"I felt like I could be [busier]," he said. "I just had to throw more punches. But I tried to land hard and catch him with clean punches.
"He has heavy punches. He's very strong. For his age [39], he has good endurance, and he was working for 12 rounds. He's a very good fighter. ... I wasn't groggy [from his power]. I felt some pressure, but it was under my control. I needed more pressure from him, to be honest.
"Of course, in boxing if you don't punch clean, the judges will give the rounds to the guy who is pressuring. ... We should ask the boxing fans if they want this rematch. If they want it, I would like to get this chance again, of course. ... I hope I will do better in the rematch."