Since its inception, Riyadh Season has provided fight fans with exciting 50/50 fights, and on Saturday night, October 12, Riyadh Season presents the final 50/50 tournament, as WBA light-heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol will face -WBC, WBO, IBF. hero Artur Beterbiev.
At times, it seemed that the potential clash of Beterbiev vs. Bivol will fall under the category of great wars that never happened. Fortunately, the two fighters were able to reach an agreement, and the fight will take place on October 12 at the Kingdom Arena, Riyadh Saudi Arabia, live on ESPN+.
This undisputed battle has all the features about this battle that it is an instant classic. This is a boxer vs. puncher game where both boxers are undefeated and both play at a high level.
Dmitry Bivol was introduced to the general public in May 2022 when he fought a man many consider to be the face of boxing. During his title defense against Canelo Alvarez, the WBA world champion let loose his entire song.
Bivol controlled the distance, he used the jab, he always hit straight punches, his timing was close, his attacks were sharp, and he was responsible for his defense. At the end of the 12-round world title contest, Dmitry Bivol earned a unanimous decision victory.
Six months later, Bivol defended his title against a Mexican boxer who entered boxing on a 44-fight winning streak. Once again, Bivol turned on his ring size and technical skills as he targeted Gilberto Ramirez.
Back in June 2024, after winning nine consecutive bouts by unanimous decision, Bivol finally stopped his opponent when he scored a sixth-round TKO over Malik Zinad. Now Dmitry Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) is facing the toughest challenge of his professional career.
As a boxer under the Top Rank umbrella, Artur Beterbiev has been scoring impressive knockouts on ESPN television. Every time Beterbiev stepped inside the squared circle, he enveloped his opponent with great force.
In June 2022, IBF light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev traveled to New York to face WBO light-heavyweight champion Joe Smith Jr. the crowd.
In the final seconds of the opening round, Beterbiev caught Smith coming in when he landed a powerful right that sent Smith to the canvas. Smith managed to get up, but would visit the canvas twice in the second round.
After getting up in the third round, Smith was badly injured when Beterbiev landed a hard uppercut that prompted the referee to step in and stop the contest. Beterbiev would go on to score victories over Anthony Yarde and Callum Smith.
Now, the current joint light-heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) plans to defeat Dmitry Bivol, and achieve his goal of becoming an undisputed world champion.
Artur Beterbiev is a talented, hard-hitting power forward who likes to go forward. Beterbiev has a strong jab, has good punch placement, and has the power to counter with his back foot.
Dmitry Bivol is a professional boxer with all the tools. Bivol has IQ, accuracy, timing, footwork, punch placement, is a great scout, and has the ability to set traps. With all of Bivol’s skills, the most intriguing question is what will happen when Beterbiev cuts the ring?
Despite the fact that Dmitry Bivol has great boxing talent, there will come a time during these matches when Bivol will have to stand up and fight Beterbiev.
In 1999, Hall of Fame boxer Roy Jones Jr. was the last undisputed light-heavyweight champion in the three-belt era. On Saturday night, in the much-anticipated legacy fight, the winner of the Beterbiev-Bivol fight will become the first undisputed light-heavyweight champion of the four-belt era.
Source link
