Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev just put on another classic, and a third fight seems inevitable.
In the rematch of their epic undisputed light heavyweight clash from 2024, Bivol got his revenge with a riveting late-round performance to pull out a majority-decision win over the previously unbeaten Beterbiev (114-114, 115-113, 116-112).
After a back-and-forth first six rounds, Bivol turned the tables on Beterbiev and took control late in the fight. That trend was the main factor in Beterbiev’s favor in their first fight.
This time, Bivol was the fresher man late, and he earned the victory. Take a look at the advantage in punches landed from the sixth round through the 12th.
The new undisputed champion took this iconic picture following his victory.
Unbelievably, Bivol is now the WBC, WBA, WBO, IBF, IBO, and Ring Magazine light heavyweight champion. No fighter in the sport is as clear-cut a king of his division.
Long-time boxing journalist Dan Rafael offered his appreciation for another excellent fight between the two best light heavyweight fighters of their generation.
Bivol’s case for the International Boxing Hall of Fame is ironclad at this point. He is now the only fighter in the sport who owns a win over Canelo Alvarez and Beterbiev.
After the fight, Turki Alalshikh approached Beterbiev and Bivol about a third and deciding fight.
Quite honestly, Beterbiev, 40, didn’t seem thrilled about the idea. He told DAZN’s Chris Mannix, “I didn’t want the second one, but I have no choice.”
That’s interesting, and it seems to hint at some sort of contract that has locked him into a trilogy with Bivol—if the second one didn’t go his way. There are some who would prefer to see Bivol take on David Benavidez, the monstrous puncher who has proven his mettle at super middleweight and light heavyweight.
Benavidez has unsuccessfully chased a huge fight with Canelo for more than a year, but on the strength of a strong victory over David Morrell earlier this year, he has positioned himself for a big fight in either weight class.
Benavidez has also recently aligned with Alalshikh, which will likely increase his chances of getting a fight with one of the elite light heavyweights.
Here is a look at all of the results from the Last Crecendo:
- Dmitry Bivol def. Artur Beterbiev (c) via majority decision (114-114, 116-112, 115-113)
- Joseph Parker def. Martin Bakole via second-round TKO
- Shakur Stevenson (c) def. Josh Padley via ninth-round TKO
- Carlos Adames (c) vs. Hamzah Sheeraz ends in a split draw (114-115, 118-110, 114-114)
- Vergil Ortiz Jr. (c) def. Israil Madrimov via unanimous decision (117-11, 115-113, 115-113)
- Agit Kabayel def. Zhilei Zhang via sixth-round TKO
- Callum Smith def. Joshua Buatsi via unanimous decision (119-110, 115-113, 116-112)
Was the Last Crescendo the best boxing card ever? No, but it was a very good show. The quality of the event was likely hurt by IBF heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois pulling out of the co-main event.
That absence left us with an out-of-shape Martin Bakole fighting Joseph Parker in a two-round scrap that left me wondering what might have been if Dubois had fought or if the Congolese giant had had a full training camp to prepare.
In any case, it was a long and enjoyable day of boxing.