Dan Morley was ringside, soaking up every punch, flurry and feint.
THE super-fight between Beterbiev and Bivol in essence, was so close, either man could’ve won marginally, or it could’ve been a draw. It was a brilliant fight at the highest level. After an intense 12 rounds of high-level action, the feeling ringside was that Bivol had done enough to secure a tight victory.
Personally, it was different watching it up close and live as opposed to rewatching the broadcast the following day. From ringside, it was easier to see how economical Bivol’s movement was and you really got more of a sense that Beterbiev’s pressure was unrelentingly suffocating – although I felt you could notice, more so in person, that he was struggling to pin Bivol.
I didn’t score the fight live, but as I say, the hunch was that Bivol had nicked it. However, upon a rewatch on the television, scoring round by round, I found myself possessing a 115-113 scorecard in favour of Artur Beterbiev after the final bell.
Truthfully, there are about four rounds that could’ve gone either way, depending on what you like. For instance, round seven, the most intriguing of the fight, along with 12. Bivol controlled the first two minutes beautifully, landing clean shots and evading the work of Beterbiev with immaculate technique, but the shots were never causing damage and although his work had clearly done enough to win the first two minutes,
Beterbiev would hurt him in an exchange and unloaded the much more damaging shots across the final minute of the round. Depending on if you prefer the smooth boxing under pressure, or the brutal work that’s clearly having an effect will sway how you score that round.
RIYADH, SAUDI ARABIA – OCTOBER 12: Dmitrii Bivol and Artur Beterbiev exchange punches during the IBF, IBO, WBC and WBO World Light Heavyweight titles’ fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitrii Bivol as part of the Riyadh Season – IV Crown Showdown card at Kingdom Arena on October 12, 2024 in Riyadh. (Photo by Richard Pelham/Getty Images)
I have seen people suggesting that Bivol was doing too much running. Nonsense! He boxed beautifully, his jab was landing, and his movement was incredible, never wasted and always done purposefully. It’s easy to forget that Beterbiev knocks everyone out. Not with one punch but with accumulative pressure, feinting, and never letting up.
Being forced to box perfectly against a menacing, unrelenting puncher is exhausting and it is the reason no one has been able to go the full 12 with Beterbiev until now. Bivol had to stay on the move, even though he’s given the tiniest gaps to escape, he did that as well as anyone could’ve possibly done in his situation.
You can not get greedy with Beterbiev. You jab, stick the combos in with pop, get his respect, and move. It’s pointless tying him up constantly, as he will out-hustle you, and that’s his strength. Engaging in physical grappling with a man like that who excels at breaking you down physically will wear you out. Bivol couldn’t have done much more. When he did throw more in his combos, he was always hurt—his shots never really did damage.
When Artur threw intense barrages, Bivol did shell up. He could’ve potentially answered with more while under attack because it was throughout these instances that Beterbiev began to take over, but he risked being taken out. He was soaking up never-ending barrages from a man who KOs everyone.
Likewise, for Beterbiev, people are saying he was hitting gloves, which is true, but he was hitting them so hard that it damaged Bivol. In his post-fight interview, Bivol said the bruising on his face was from Artur hitting his high-held guard.
They were still damaging punches that shook Bivol, and with the shots around the back of the guard and the sickening body blows, his work was very effective. Artur started many rounds slowly and finished strong.
He could’ve pressed the action earlier in the rounds for a more resounding victory, but once again, Bivol is the hardest man to pin down in boxing and believe me, Artur wasn’t finding it easy to do so.
At the end of the day, these two men counteracted each other perfectly and both gave it everything they had, which provided an intense chess match of the highest level, as we expected.
It’s also worth noting, as hard as it is to imagine, that these two men are not perfectly functioning boxing robots but human beings who, besides their perfect records and demeanours that never seem to show any weakness, ultimately do have to pace themselves and will experience adversity that they must find a way to overcome.
Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: Dmitry Bivol in his dressing room after his Split decision Loss to Artur Beterbiev.
13 October 2024. Picture By Mark Robinson Matchroom Boxing.
Both are so experienced, disciplined, and well trained that they will keep their form and never let on, but undeniably, in a fight of this magnitude, where there was never a moment to rest, fatigue would’ve played a factor in their not boxing completely perfectly.
Perhaps it’s why Beterbiev wasn’t constantly pressing from the first minute of each round as he did later in the fight, with the idea of pacing himself to go the distance, which is unfamiliar territory. On the flip side, Bivol had exerted tons of energy early on, which may have been why he could not answer all of Beterbiev’s barrages late on due to exhaustion.
Regardless, what a brilliant fight. One every boxing fan was desperate to see. I was lucky enough to witness it in person and ultimately, the best fight that could be made in boxing duly delivered. Either man could’ve feasibly won and hopefully both men will have a chance to gain the upper hand in an immediate rematch.