IBF, WBC, and WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) came on late with his pressure to defeat previously unbeaten WBA champ Dmitry Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) on Saturday night at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
The scores were 114-114, 115-113 and 116-112. WBA champion Bivol blew his chances of winning by choosing to move so much in the championship rounds from round 9 through 12. If Bivol had been winning to stand his ground in the championship rounds, he might have won. He looked afraid of Beterbiev, and that lost him the fight.
Bivol used his movement to control the first half of the fight, but Beterbiev came on in the second half with his pressure to dominate five of the last six rounds. Beterbiev had Bivol running from the 10th round after getting hit with some massive shots.
After the fight, Beterbiev expressed unhappiness with his performance. He felt that he should have fought better.
– Fabio Wardley (18-0-1, 17 KOs) obliterated Frazer Clarke (8-1-1, 6 KOs) in a first-round knockout in their rematch in heavyweight action in the co-feature spot. Wardley hurt Clarke with a big right hand moments into the fight, which caused him to stumble against the ropes.
Wardley then unloaded with a left-right combination and then a big right hand to put Frazer on the canvas. The referee then waved it off because Frazer was too hurt to get back to his feet. The time of the stoppage was at 2:28 of round one.
– Jai Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs) easily defended his IBF cruiserweight title, stopping fringe contender Jack Massey (22-3, 12 KOs) in the sixth round of a one-sided contest. Massey’s trainer threw in the towel during the sixth round to save his fighter from punishment.
The southpaw Opetaia was punishing the gunshy Massey with shots in the sixth, with busting his nose, cutting his eye with blood coming from his mouth. The fight was halted at 2:00 minutes of the sixth.
When Massey did land some hard shots, Opetaia didn’t look comfortable taking them. The Australian Opetaia doesn’t like getting hit. We saw that tonight and in his previous fight against Maris Briedis.
– Chris Eubank Jr. (34-3, 25 KOs) knocked out journeyman Kamil Szeremeta (25-3-2, 8 KOs) in the seventh round to win the IBO middleweight fight. Eubank Jr, 35, dropped Szeremeta down four times in the contest, with the last two coming in the seventh round from body shots.
In the first, Eubank Jr. knocked Szeremeta down with a right to the head. Eubank Jr. dropped Szeremeta again with a right to the head in the sixth. Eubank Jr. was cut over his right eye in the third round from a clash of heads.
After the second knockdown in the round, the referee waved it off. The fight was halted at 1:50 of the seventh round by referee John Latham. Eubank Jr. will now likely face welterweight Conor Benn next.
“I felt I could have ended in the first round,” said Eubank Jr. “I had fun in there to get ready for the big fight next. Szeremeta is a tough guy. I said, ‘Know what, body shots are going to get this guy out.’ This is the fight that everyone wants to see. I want you next,” said Eubank Jr. about Benn.
“After that performance, you think I’m worried?” said Conor Benn. “Easy work. I’ll jump up two weight divisions. No one is scared of that. Let’s get it done.”
– Skye Nicolson (12-1, 1 KOs) retained her WBC female featherweight title with a one-sided ten-round unanimous decision over previously uneaten Raven Chapman (9-1, 2 KOs). The scores were 99-91, 98-92 and 98-92.
The southpaw Nicolson, 28, moved around the ring all night, making Chapman chase her around the ring all night. Chapman had difficulty trying to land due to Nicolson’s movement and the left-hand counters she was getting hit with. It wasn’t the most entertaining fight to watch, but that’s how Nicolson fights.
She’s a pure boxer, with 90% of her game being focused on defense and just 10% on offense. Think of her as Shakur Stevenson’s version of women’s boxing.
– Ben Whittaker (8-0-1, 5 KOs) and Liam Cameron (23-6-1, 10 KOs) fought to a five-round split draw in light heavyweight action scheduled for ten rounds.
The 2020 Olympic silver medalist Whittaker suffered a right leg injury after he and Cameron both tumbled out of the ring in the fifth round. Whittaker, 27, injured his leg in the fall and couldn’t continue.
The timing of the injury, coming when Whittaker was getting the worst of it, gave the impression to some fans that he was looking for a way out of the fight. It looked to some like Whittaker quit and used the injury to avoid getting beaten.
The scores were:
– 58-57 – Whittaker
– 58-57 – Cameron
– 58-58
Cameron was coming on from the third round, landing the much harder shots, and seemingly troubling Whittaker. You could tell that Whittaker was bothered by the powerful shots from Cameron.
In the fifth, Whittaker repeatedly hit Cameron with blow blows, resulting in the referee giving him a hard warning. Moments later, Whittaker grabbed Cameron in a clinch, and the two fell out of the ring.
– Mohammed Alakel (1-0) won his pro debut at super featherweight, defeating Jesus Gonzalez (3-3) by a four-round unanimous decision. The scores were 40-36, 40-36, and 40-36. The lanky Alakel jabbed, landed right hands, and controlled the action against aggressive Gonzalez. In the fourth, Gonzalez went the attack, pressing the action, but Alakel did a good job of avoiding his shots.