Dmitry Bivol handily retained his WBA light heavyweight title, stopping over-matched challenger Malik Zinad in the sixth round during today’s show in Riyadh.
Turki Alalshikh also made official that Bivol’s planned fight with Artur Beterbiev has been rescheduled for Saturday, Oct. 12, in Saudi Arabia.
Bivol was meant to be facing Beterbiev in an undisputed world title fight today, but an injury to Beterbiev forced Bivol into a stay-busy fight against a WBA-ranked opponent, which in all reality was more evidence of how terrible sanctioning body rankings tend to be.
Zinad (22-1, 16 KO) came in pretty much unknown, and though he gave it a gutsy approach, it was clear quickly — including a first round knockdown — that he just wasn’t near the level of Bivol (23-0, 12 KO), which was the anticipated result of the fight.
“I need to be focused and ready for Oct. 12,” Bivol said. “This is what I wanted.”