Author: Sean Crose

It was undoubtedly the most vital event in the sport of boxing. On Saturday in Saudi Arabia, undefeated delicate heavyweight champions Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev faced each other to find out once and for all who really is the king of the division. And now that the fight is over, there is still no real consensus on who the top dog in the division actually is. While it is true that Beterbiev won by a majority vote at the Kingdom Arena in Riyad, the referee’s decision was not without controversy. Because the fight was close, quite close. After the final bell, some, if not most, felt that Bivol should have known the decision.

Time will tell whether there will be a rematch. One wonders if the second fight between these two brilliant ring strategists won’t end very differently the second time around. On Saturday, everyone did what they do best. Bivol boxed and Beterbiev moved to attack. Bivol dominated for moments of the match, but Beterbiev, who had never gone that far in his 20-fight career, was able to land with more power. And as the fight came to an end, it looked like Bivol was breaking down.

I didn’t count the points while watching the fight, but he still wouldn’t believe me if I was in favor of one fighter or the other. Why would you do that? Boxing can be a subjective sport – sometimes poorly conducted and judged, but a subjective sport nonetheless. Ask ten people who lived in the 1980s who won Hagler-Leonard and there will most likely be no consensus. When it comes to the sweet science, victory is often in the eye of the beholder. That’s the nature of boxing fandom.

Just like wrong expectations. Before the weekend, the consensus seemed to be that Beterbiev would keep Bivol within striking distance or that Bivol would win a quick decision. It was tough to imagine anyone thinking Beterbiev would win at the cards. Yet that’s exactly what happened last weekend. Fans and analysts therefore had to face the fact that the unexpected prevailed on Saturday – the unexpected and perhaps disappointing. Because although it was good, the Biwoł-Beterbiew fight was not electrifying. It was certainly a high-octane chess match, but maybe not a thriller. And maybe that shouldn’t be controversial. After all, it was a fierce fight.

Jai Opetaia expects Tim Tszyu to learn from his fight with Sebastian Fundora and dethrone Bakhram Murtazaliev as the IBF junior middleweight champion.

The 29-year-old lost for the first time in March when, in a fight for the WBO and vacant WBC titles, Tszyu suffered a solemn injury to Fundora’s elbow that left him unable to see or compete in the second round.

He agreed to fight the lumbering Fundora belatedly following an injury suffered by his previous and significantly different opponent Keith Thurman. After the fight at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, which he lost by decision, it was also suggested that Tszyu should not have been allowed to continue after seeing the corner cut.

Having sacrificed his title and undefeated record, he is looking to gain another at the Caribe Royale in Orlando, Florida, where Murtazaliev makes his first defense of the vacant title he won in April by stopping Jack Culcay.

Regardless of the circumstances of the defeat to Fundora, a second defeat in a row would prove disastrous for the Australian’s career – Fundora is also close to rewarding victory with a lucrative fight against Errol Spence – but ultimately compatriot Tszyu supports him in victory.

It was a significant period for Australian boxing. On Saturday – under Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol’s card in Riyad, Saudi Arabia – Opetaia stopped Jack Massey to defend her IBF cruiserweight title, and Skye Nicolson overtook Raven Chapman to defend her WBC featherweight title.

With the announcement that Liam Paro will defend his IBF junior lightweight title on December 7 against Richardson Hitchins, it is possible that the oft-neglected fighting culture will celebrate the existence of four world champions by the end of 2024.

“He was a bit unlucky – unlucky with the cut and stuff like that,” Opetaia told BoxingScene. “But it’s all part of learning. I’m sure they’ve learned a lot and I’m looking forward to his return to form. I support him with all my strength.

“It’s good to see another Australian on the world stage. Few of us end up here; this is common with Poms [Britons] and Europeans and Americans, but for people from our forest it is a long way to get here. I support him with all my strength.

“It’s a great fight. I will support Tim.

“I just hope Tim wins. He’s fucking Australian – we support each other. Once he’s home, we want to decapitate each other. But when it’s our nation and he flies our flag and he’s one of us, we support him all the time. I hope he fucking beats everyone.

“It would be great if the Australian market worked as a whole team. You have all these Pom Poms; you have so many Pommies fighting on the same card and they create Matchrooms and such.

“It’s a little different for us because if we were to do an Australian fight night, something like what the UFC does – they put all the Australians on the same damn card – if we did something like that, I’d be honored to do it. part of it. I would even take a pay cut to be a part of it because it would just be a historic thing for Australia and that’s what it’s all about – being a part of things like this.

“We were in a fucking pub cheering for margaritas [when Paro defeated Subriel Matias]. We had a crazy day that day. It was amazing. Fuck, we celebrated for him.

Matchroom’s Eddie Hearn has made no secret of his desire to have a homecoming fight for Paro in Australia in the future and potentially have Nicolson, Opetaia and heavyweight Justis Huni on the card. In the event of a victory over 31-year-old Russian Murtazaliev, Tszyu is expected to retain the fierce sense of independence that has helped anger the influential Turki Alalshikh.

“The stakes are always high,” Opetaia continued. “Me; Tim; we’re at the peak of our careers. Every fight has high stakes. We don’t go into fights thinking, ‘Fuck, you know…’ It’s all risky business. One punch can change everything. We’re in it; at the risk our lives; sacrificing ourselves every day. It’s all high stakes.

“For someone watching the fight outside the ring, it may look different. “He can do it; can do it.” But when you get in that ring and punch it, anything can happen, so we have to take this shit seriously – and I’m sure he does. He always does it. Always delivers.

“[Tszyu’s independence is] Good. He had Australia behind him – for us the paths were completely different. He cooperates with Tim Tszyu with No Limits, with whom he had a contract [broadcasters] Fox, and Fox still controls everything in the Australian boxing world, so it’s easier to promote him, especially with the Tszyu name.

“I’m not trying to discredit him at all – obviously he does tough work and wins fights. He is a great fighter. I saw him as a newborn kid rising through the ranks; We played for Up-to-date South Wales teams as teenagers, so I saw his tough work. I know it’s a long process and he deserves some of that preparation and the opportunity to sell the fight in Australia – I’ve been on the scene for a few years and that name Tszyu spans two generations. It’s good for Australian boxing; gives other Australians gigantic fights; these are gigantic cards. Everything is positive.”

Canelo Alvarez has been the top super middleweight champion since delayed 2020, and in 2021 he became the undisputed champion.

However, while boxing’s biggest star is always low of challengers, he can only fight so many of them, including his mandates. In August, the IBF decided that the mandatory William Scull had waited long enough and stripped Canelo of his title.

On Saturday, Scull will face Vladimir Shishkin for the vacant IBF title at the Stadthalle in Falkensee near Berlin, Germany.

“It’s a dream come true to be able to fight Vladimir Shishkin for the world title on October 19, after so many years of waiting,” Scull (22-0, 9 knockouts) told The Ring. “It means a lot to me because it has been my dream since I was a child and I am very ecstatic to be able to compete in this championship thanks to the support of my family who are involved in it all, my coach Franquis Aldam, my fitness coach Raul Moggiano and my promoter Agon Sport (Ingo Volckmann).”

The Cuban-born fighter fought over 300 amateur fights before defecting to Argentina in 2016.

His first nine fights there were before it became clear he had the talent to make an impact on the world stage and he negotiated a deal to go to Germany in 2019.

This gave his career more focus and he became an IBF mandatory since defeating Yevgeny Shvedenko in July 2022. Since then, he waited patiently for a call that ultimately never came.

“It was a hard time in my career because I didn’t know what was going to happen,” he said of waiting for a chance to win a world title. “I was actually looking forward to meeting super champion Canelo Alvarez, but I was always focused and knew something good was going to happen.”

The 32-year-old hopes to exploit his amateur and professional experience to defeat Shishkin.

“From what I’ve seen so far, he’s a mighty boxer, but I’m ready to beat whatever Shishkin brings,” he explained. “I am a competitor who can overcome all three distances, I have prepared well, I have all the skills to overcome it.”

For much of his career, Scull has been in the shadow of two of his great compatriots, David Morrell and, more recently, Osleys Iglesias. He doesn’t see it as a problem, in fact he sees it as an advantage.

“This is something very essential for Cuban boxing. I am motivated by the successes of my compatriots,” he said. “Live Kuba! They will have another IBF world champion on the 19th.

Shishkin, ranked No. 6 on The Ring’s super middleweight rankings, turned professional in 2016. He managed to show his class by defeating Nadjib Mohammedi (TKO 10), DeAndre Ware (TKO 8) and undefeated Ulises Sierra (UD 10).

The 33-year-old Russian also dominated once-defeated Sena Agbeko (UD 10) on ShoBox and overtook former IBF champion Jose Uzcategui (UD 12). Since then, he has tread water, defeating a pair of journeymen.

I would prefer Scull, who fights at home, to tip the scales with a 12-round unanimous decision, although I expect Shishkin to have his moments.

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