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Mike Coppinger, ESPN Boxing Insider
For the first time in 10 fights, Dmitry Bivol scored a stoppage win Saturday with a sixth-round TKO of Malik Zinad to retain his WBA light heavyweight title in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
And now, Bivol (23-0, 11 KOs) will move onto an Oct. 12 undisputed light heavyweight championship fight vs. Artur Beterbiev in Riyadh, per Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority.
Bivol and Beterbiev were set to fight Saturday before the latter underwent surgery last month to repair a ruptured meniscus. Libya’s Zinad (22-1, 16 KOs) stepped in less than 30 days out and entered the ring a major underdog in his first world title bid.
The 33-year-old Bivol floored Zinad in the opening round with a three-punch combination and went on to outbox him over the next four frames.
The Russian broke through in Round 6 with a left hook that rocked Zinad. Bivol followed up with a barrage of punches along the ropes as the referee halted the action with Zinad, 30, defenseless at 2:06.
“I believe that my power is every time with me,” Bivol said. “I didn’t have doubts, of course [my] power [is] with me.”
Bivol owns a victory over the sport’s top star, Canelo Alvarez, and is ESPN’s No. 5 pound-for-pound boxer. His footwork is some of the world’s best and so is his ability to control range with his jab.
“You are one of the best fighters ever and you deserve this,” Alalshikh told Bivol. “We offer for you four or five fights — big fights. We want to see you against [David] Benavidez, we want to see you against [Jai] Opetaia, against the tough [opponents].”
Both are excellent potential matchups, but none as attractive as the October showdown with Beterbiev, a 39-year-old Russian with a 100% KO ratio. Beterbiev is one spot behind Bivol on ESPN’s pound-for-pound list. The bout vs. Bivol has been one of boxing’s most anticipated for years.