Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol LIVE RESULTS: Beterbiev WINS controversial thriller, Clarke in hospital after KO loss
ARTUR BETERBIEV has controversially beaten Dmitry Bivol on points in a thrilling main event in Riyadh!
On the undercard, Fabio Wardley has destroyed Frazer Clarke inside ONE round in their long-awaited rematch.
While Chris Eubank Jr finally made his return to the ring with a stoppage victory over Kamil Szeremeta, which included a fierce confrontation with rival Conor Benn afterwards.
Though Ben Whittaker's fight against Liam Cameron ended extraordinarily with both fighters falling over the top rope in never-before-seen circumstances.
Whittaker was taken out of the arena in a wheelchair and the fight was ruled a technical decision split draw.
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Ok...
So… Chris Eubank Jr brought a massive golden sword with him to the final press conference earlier this week.
Yep, struggling to believe I wrote that sentence.
Do I know the purpose of the sword? Nope. Do I think it should be confiscated? Yes.
Credit: DAZN Congratulations
You'll all be thrilled that promoter Eddie Hearn has congratulated everyone for tuning in. Modest as ever.
Anyway, I know it's his job to promote these fights but he looks really excited about this one.
Eddie Hearn: "For me, this is one of the fights of our generation, fight of the year, the best fight in boxing."
Asked what Dmitry Bivol has to do to win tonight's fight, he said: "Be perfect."
Great, I'll let him know.
Eddie Hearn, Chairman of Matchroom SportCredit: GETTY What's on?
So while this four-round fight is going on, I'll tell you a little bit about what's coming up tonight. There'll be no shortage of action, trust me.
Aside from that monster clash between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, we've got SIX other fights to look forward to.
England's Raven Chapman features on the card against Australian WBC featherweight champion Skye Nicolson in a historic first-ever women's world title fight in Saudi Arabia.
Australia's Jai Opetaia puts his IBF belt on the line against Jack Massey in the cruiserweight division.
There is also a rematch between British heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke after they drew in March.
Tasty.
Credit: GETTY
Next up
It's Mohammaed Alakel vs Jesus Gonzalez, of course!
I'm not going to pretend I know much about either of these chaps. I can, however, tell you that all the pressure is on hometown hero (loose term) Mohammaed Alakel, who's got Turki Alalshikh front and centre watching him.
First result
Marco Maric beat Christian Lopez Flores by unanimous decision. That was his debut as a professional. He and the seven people in the crowd go wild.
Ah...
I clicked 'enter' on that last post and immediately realised I'm wrong about the four belts thing. There's actually an 'undisputed' belt that's been made especially for the occasion.
And look, here's a picture of Turki Alalshikh holding it.
Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev weigh inCredit: GETTY Who's got what?
Good question. Thanks for asking.
The unbeaten light-heavyweights have a total of four belts between them.
Artur Beterbiev has the WBC, WBO and IBF belts, while Dmitry Bivol is the WBA Super champion.
And one of the two is walking out of the Kingdom Arena with all four on their shoulders. Or carried for them because they look pretty heavy and they'll be knackered.
Action underway in Riyadh
Marco Maric takes on Christian Lopez Flores to kick off tonight's blockbuster eight-fight bill.
The super welterweight bout will be contested over four rounds.
Beterbiev vs Bivol TOTT
Tonight's main event promises to be a blockbuster as Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol go head-to-head.
Both fighters are looking to become undisputed light-heavyweight champion as they also put their unbeaten records on the line.
'Fight of the Year contender'
Seven months ago, Fabio Wardley and Frazer Clarke met for a brutal heavyweight showdown at the O2 Arena.
The thrilling and gory late-night violence was worthy of a Top Boy episode.
And thankfully, when the scorecards were read out - one judge favouring Wardley, one picking Clarke and one picking the draw - the feedback was far less vicious than the fight.
Fans scoring along on boxing’s online bible BoxRec even agreed and scored the fight a 113-113 tie.
And, unlike most close or controversial decisions these days, there was no talk of alternative avenues, no plan to side-step, zero schemes to navigate another route to a world title shot.
All roads lead to tonight's thrilling rematch in Saudi Arabia.
Warren on what's next for Wardley
Frank Warren believes Fabio Wardley 'will go into the mix for the next level' should he beat Frazer Clarke this evening.
The iconic promoter said: "If Fabio wins, he will go into the mix for the next level.
"He will be looking at fights next year against the likes of [Zhilei] Zhang, [Joseph] Parker and those guys.
"Maybe fight for a vacant title, maybe be in a mandatory."
Credit: Getty Is there a Beterbiev vs Bivol rematch clause?
According to Bivol's promoter, Eddie Hearn, there is NO rematch clause for his fight with Beterbiev.
But Hearn refused to rule out a rematch entirely, hinting that if the fight was an entertaining one and there was public demand for it, a rematch could be made.
But there are options for both Bivol and Beterbiev after this weekend's clash.
Bivol will always have the option to rematch Canelo Alvarez again and has stated he could move down to super-middleweight to do so.
Beterbiev has also previously been linked with a fight against Alvarez, but is more likely to move up in weight to cruiserweight.
The Russian, 39, could also hang up his gloves, win or lose, with an unbeaten record intact after cleaning out an entire division.
If the fight between Bivol and Beterbiev is a close one, however, then expect a rematch, particularly if there's controversy surrounding the result.
Tonight's schedule
*Timings are approximate and subject to change, depending on the length of each fight.
- 5.35pm Mohammaed Alakel vs. Jesus Gonzalez
- 6pm Ben Whittaker vs. Liam Cameron
- 7pm Skye Nicolson vs. Raven Chapman for Nicolson's WBC women's featherweight title
- 8pm Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Kamil Szeremeta
- 9pm Jai Opetaia vs. Jack Massey for Opetaia's IBF cruiserweight title
- 10pm Fabio Wardley vs. Frazer Clarke for Wardley's British heavyweight title
- 11.15pm (UK) Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol IBF, WBC, WBO and WBA light heavyweight titles
Who is on the Beterbiev vs Bivol undercard?
Chris Eubank Jr makes his highly-anticipated return to the ring to take on Kamil Szeremeta.
Fabio Wardley is in British heavyweight action against Frazer Clarke for their highly-anticipated rematch - their previous meeting was among the best fights of the year.
Brit Jack Massey takes on cruiserweight king Jai Opetaia and fans' favourite Ben Whittaker is also back in action.
Skye Nicolson puts her WBC Women's Featherweight title up for grabs with Raven Chapman as the challenger.
Here is the FULL undercard below:
- Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol - for the IBF, WBC, WBO and WBA light heavyweight titles
- Chris Eubank Jr vs Kamil Szeremeta
- Fabio Wardley vs Frazer Clarke - for Wardley's British heavyweight title
- Jai Opetaia vs Jack Massey - for Opetaia's IBF cruiserweight title
- Ben Whittaker vs Liam Cameron
- Skye Nicolson vs Raven Chapman - for Nicolson's WBC women's featherweight title
- Mohammaed Alakel vs Jesus Gonzalez
Welcome to SunSport’s coverage of Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol
Fight night is FINALLY here and the headline act will see Artur Beterbiev take on Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed light heavyweight titles - this is going to be good!
The pair were supposed to meet earlier this year, but an injury to Beterbiev put the fight on ice.
Beterbiev retained his IBF, WBC and WBO titles earlier this year after punching his way to a TKO victory against Callum Smith.
Bivol is the WBA titleholder and is best known for handing Canelo Alvarez the second loss of his career two years ago.
And he overcame replacement opponent Malik Zinad on June 1, knocking him out in the sixth round.
Now, both heavy hitters will slug it out for the chance to claim all four belts.
But there are several thrilling fights taking place on the undercard before the main event - and one is the son of a certain boxing legend who goes by the name of Chris Eubank Snr.
