Dmitry Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) avenged his previous defeat by beating undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs) by a 12-round majority decision on Saturday night in their rematch at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
The scores were 114-114, 116-112, and 115-113. Boxing News 24 scored it a draw. Predictably, Bivol won because it sets up a trilogy match.
Beterbiev was in command of the fight from round three, appearing to win rounds 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, and 8. He gave away 9 through 11 but came on strong in the 12th. That should have been enough for Beterbiev to be given a draw, but again, it’s unsurprising that Bivol was given the win.
Beterbiev vs. Bivol round-by-round
Round 1: Beterbiev stalks Bivol around the ring, landing to the body and head. Bivol landed some fast counters, catching Beterbiev as he was trying to throw. Artur not throwing enough to win the round.
Round 2: Bivol connects with a big right hand early in the round that snaps Beterbiev’s head back. Bivol stays on the move, jabbing and catching Beterbiev with shots. Later in the round, Bivol nails Betebriev with another big right hand that gets the crowd roaring. Beterbiev looks frustrated with himself as the round ends.
Round 3: Bivol landed many fast combinations. The forehead of Beterbiev is marked up from the shots. Beterbiev lands some big punches late but is grabbed in a clinch. While being held, Beterbiev connects with two big rights to Bivol’s head. Thus far, it appears 3-0 for Bivol.
Round 4: A good round for Beterbiev, chasing Bivol down, landing jabs and power shots. Bivol literally running in this round and not doing much. Beterbiev round.
Round 5: Beterbiev totally dominating, showing no fear as he unloads on Bivol, chasing him around the ring. Bivol looks like he’s falling apart.
Round 6: Bivol was having a good round, but Beterbiev came on in the final 10 seconds, nailing him at will with shots that made him look in trouble.
Rounds 7 and 8: There’s not much output from Beterbiev, as he’s just following Bivol around without throwing. Bivol becomes confident, landing the shots and outworking Beterbiev.
Round 9: Through most of the rounds, Bivol dominates with his combinations and jabs. In the last minute, Bivol stops throwing, and Beterbiev chases him around, landing hard punches. The round is hard to score because of how it ended.
Round 10: In the first part of the round, Bivol got the better of the action, but then he ran for the last two minutes and did nothing until the last five seconds. Beterbiev was the aggressor and lnded the harder shots.
Round 11: A good round by Bivol, who is catching Beterbiev with shots as he’s coming forward. In the final seconds, Bivol grabs Beterbiev to keep him from throwing. Bivol’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, is cheering for him. No doubt, he’s hoping that he can win and use the undisputed to lure Canelo Alvarez to fight him.
Round 12: A clear round for Beterbiev as he chases Bivol around the ring, nailing him with shots. Bivol’s left eye is in bad shape, and he looks in serious trouble as the round ends. He was in pure survival mode in this round after getting hit hard by Beterbiev earlier. This is the way Beterbiev needed to fight from rounds nine through eleven rather than waiting until the 12th. I smell a robbery.
– WBO interim heavyweight champion Joseph Parker (36-3, 24 KOs) made easy work of a badly out-of-shape Martin Bakole (21-2, 16 KOs), knocking him out in the second round in the co-feature bout tonight. Parker dropped Bakole with a right-hand temple shot that put him on his back. Bakole was staggering as he got back to his feet, and his corner decided to have it stopped. The time was at 2:17 of the round.
Parker vs. Bakole round-by-round
Round 1: The trimmer-looking Parker controls most of the round with his hand speed against a hefty-looking 310-lb Bakole. In the final 10 seconds, Bakole opens up with a burst of shots that catch Parker, sending him fleeing.
Round 2: Parker catches Bakole with a big right that sends him down on the canvas. Bakole gets up on shaky legs, and his corner chooses to have it stopped. A second knockout win for Parker. What a mess.
– WBC lightweight champion Shakur Stevenson (23-0, 11 KOs) looked very average in scoring a ninth-round technical knockout win over his replacement opponent Josh Padley (15-1, 4 KOs). Stevenson dropped the painfully slow, light-hitting Padley three times with body shots in the ninth. Padley’s corner threw in the towel after the third knockdown. Referee Victor Loughlin halted the contest at 3:00 of round nine.
Stevenson vs. Padley round-by-round
Round 1: Shakur looks timid, throwing very few punches and retreating whenever attacked. Padley landed two nice right hands to get the better of the action, but there was almost nothing thrown by either guy. Shakur is fighting like he’s in with a knockout artist.
Round 2: Early in the round, Stevenson landed a left-right combination to the head of Padley. However, for the remainder of the round, almost nothing landed from either guy. Shakur is doing a lot of smirking but not letting his hands go.
Round 3: Mostly jabs from Shakur early on. He was warned by the referee for holding and hitting. Late in the round, Stevenson attacks Padley with a furious assault that knocks him off balance briefly. Still, not impressive stuff from Shakur, given the low level of his opponent and all the hype about him.
Round 4: Shakur still fighting cautiously, jabbing, holding & hitting, and retreating whenever attacked. A lot of wrestling from Shakur grabbing Padley to keep him from throwing. Very defensive stuff and not interesting to watch.
Round 5: Late in the round, Stevenson fought with sustained aggression for the first time in the fight, attacking the body and going upstairs to the head of Padley. However, Padley fights back, nailing Shakur with a shot that causes him to back off in fear.
Round 6: Shakur lands a flurry early in the round that appears to have Padley in trouble. However, he shows a lot of heart, coming back a little. Shakur appears to hurt his left hand in the round as he shakes it and stops using it.
Round 7: Padley starts off well, attacking Shakur with combinations. Late in the round, Stevenson hurts Padley with a left to the body. Padley comes back strong to land since nice shots to Shakur’s midsection. After the round ends, Stevenson stands and watches Padely as he walks back to his corner, trying to intimidate him.
Round 8: Not much action from either fighter. Shakur looks like he’s unable to use his left hand now and mostly focuses on his right. Padley is fighting hard but has no power on his shots. However, when he does land, Stevenson doesn’t like it and holds or runs. Not impressive stuff from a fighter hyped as much as him by his promoter Eddie Hearn and a legion of his followers.
Round 9: Shakur drops Padley three times with body shots. Padley’s corner throws in the towel. The referee let Shakur get away with hitting Padley when he was down after the second knockdown. Overall, it’s not impressive stuff and definitely not the performance worthy of a fight against Gervonta Davis.
– WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames (24-1-1, 18 KOs) and #1 ranked Hamzah Sheeraz (21-0-1, 17 KOs) fought to a VERY questionable 12-round draw. The judges saved the highly popular British fighter Sheeraz from defeat as he appeared to win only two rounds at best. He wasn’t throwing and looking scared. When Sheeraz did land, he’d back off rather than following up.
The scores
115-114: Sheeraz
118-110: Adames
114-114
Hamzah looked terrible the entire fight, and nowhere near the level that he needed to be for him to deserve a decision or a draw. Adames was the much busier of the two fighters, and he dominated the fight against a frightened-looking Sheeraz. Hopefully, there won’t be a rematch because that would likely be in the UK, which would put Adames in a poor position to win.
– WBC interim Junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. (23-0, 21 KOs) retained his title with a 12-round unanimous decision over former WBA champ Israil Madrimov (10-2-1, 7 KOs). The scores were 117-111, 115-113 and 115-113. Boxing News 24 scored it for Madrimov 7-5.
The pressure from Vergil Jr. impressed the judges, as he was coming forward the entire fight, throwing but mostly missing. In the championship round, Ortiz Jr. got the better of Madrimov. However, the 11th and 12th looked like they could have gone Madrimov’s way because he led the better shots. Ortiz Jr’s eyes were both badly swollen from Madrimov’s hard punches.
Ortiz Jr. vs. Madrimov round by round
Round 1: Madrimov using constant movement, jabs and right hands to get the better of a slow, plodding Ortiz Jr. in this round. Too much speed and movement from Madrimov for Vergil Jr. to land.
Round 2: Both of Vergil Jr’s eyes are swelling up badly from the sharp punches from ‘Little GGG’ Madrimov, who really dominates the action with his movement and power.
Round 3: Closer round due to Madrimov mostly moving. However, in the final 30 seconds, Madrimov separated himself from Ortiz by landing repeated shots.
Round 4: Madrimov throws more, landing some big shots that connect well to the head of Vergil Jr. Another strong round by Israil. Too skilled for Ortiz Jr.
Round 5: Israil Madrimov is standing and fighting more in this round, nailing Vergil Jr. with heavy shots right down the middle. Vergil landing, too, but not nearly as often. He looks confused.
Round 6: This is a better round for Vergil Jr, as he lands more does a good job with pressure. The referee gives Madrimov a warning for the use of his shoulder. A weird warning because he walked Madrimov to the corner.
Round 7: A close round. Madrimov landed the harder punches, but Vergil Jr. was busier, throwing more. He pressured Madrimov throughout the round, following him around, but not landing a lot. It was hard to pick a winner in this round. Right eye looking badly swollen of Vergil.
Round 8: Madrimov getting the better of Ortiz Jr. with power shots. He’s not moving as much in this round and nailing Ortiz Jr.
Round 9: Big round by Vergil Jr, as Madrimov covering up against the ropes, getting shelled. He looks in bad shape. He made it through the round but looked like he was ready to go. Madrimov is not throwing or moving as much. Rabbit punching by Ortiz.
Round 10: Madrimov comes back to land some big shots. However, receives a warning for the use of the head. More rabbit punches from Vergil Jr, who looks desperate to win and throws the rule book out the window.
Round 11: A toss-up round. Madrimov landed the better shots and made Vergil Jr. miss a lot, but he still got hit with some shots. Ortiz Jr’s eyes look in bad shape. The right eye has a big mouse.
Round 12: Madrimov landed the better shots in the round. The swollen-faced Ortiz Jr. did too much showboating and didn’t throw enough. The referee gave Madrimov a warning for pushing off. I gave the round to Madrimov and had him winning 7-5. He dominated the early rounds and won enough to deserve the decision. The judges will likely give it to Vergil Jr. because he’s the younger, more marketable fighter. As expected, the judges give it to the A-side fighter, Vergil Jr., by a 12-round unanimous decision. The scores were 117-111, 115-113 and 115-113.
– Agit Kabayel (26-0, 18 KOs) used his body attack to stop the 41-year-old Zhilei Zhang (27-3-1, 22 KOs) in the sixth round to win the WBC interim heavyweight title. Kabayel, 32, knocked a very tired-looking Zhang down with a right to the body in the sixth round. The referee, Mark Lyson, then counted out Zhang. The time of the stoppage was at 2:29 of round six. Zhang dropped Kabayel in the fifth round with a sneaky left hook counter. Kabayel never even saw and went down hard. Although he was still hurt, he made out of the round due to Zhang being so tired and not having the gas tank to finish off his prey.
Zhang vs. Kabayel
Round 1: Kabayel presses the action, attacking the body of the slower, bigger Zhang. Some big shots landed by Zhang would have knocked out many fighters, but Kabayel took them well.
Round 2: Zhang comes back strong, landing right-hand counters that snap Kabayel’s head repeatedly. As the round ends, Kabayel looks frustrated.
Round 3: Kabayel makes adjustments in this round, attacking Zhang with body shots and pushing a fast pace. Zhang takes deep breaths, looking tired.
Round 4: The 41-year-old Zhang was hurt by a body shot from Kabayel and looking exhausted. Kabayel totally dominates the action, going to the body and head. Zhang’s shots have nothing on them.
Round 5: Zhang drops Kabayel with a big left hook that the Germany-based fighter never saw coming. However, Kabayel comes back to dominate the round against a depleted-looking Zhang, who has nothing left in the tank.
Round 6: Kabayel batters the 6’6″ Zhang with body shots, hurting him with a shot that puts him down. The referee mistakenly chooses not to halt the fight for some reason. Moments later, Kabayel knocks Zhang down with a right to the breakbasket. The referee then stops the fight.
– Callum Smith (31-2, 22 KOs) used his fierce bodywork to defeat the previously unbeaten WBO interim light heavyweight champion Joshua Buatsi (19-1, 13 KOs) in the first fight of the main card. Smith, 34, hurt Buatsi with body shots in the sixth round. In the 12th, Callum hurt Buatsi with a right hand that had him staggering. He lost his mouthpiece, which bought him some time. Smith then continued to batter the hurt Buatsi to the final belt. Surprisingly, he stayed on his feet, but he was clearly beaten. The scores were 119-110, 115-113 and 116-112.
– Super Featherweight prospect Mohammed Alakel (2-0) defeated veteran Engel Gomez (8-43-3, 4 KOs) by a six-round points decision. The referees’ score was 60-54.
– Unbeaten light welterweight Ziyad Almaayouf (7-0-1, KO) schooled journeyman Jonatas Rodrigo Gomes de Oliveira (6-21, 5 KOs), winning an easy six-round points decision. The referee, Howard Foster, scored it 60-54 for Almaayouf.