Dmitry Bivol’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, still insists that he won Saturday’s fight with Artur Beterbiev and that he should be the undisputed airy heavyweight champion today.

If Hearn has his way, Bivol will get another chance to fight for titles against unified champion Beterbiev. We don’t want Bivol to not engage like last time, lose, and then Hearn complain that he won and then make a fuss about wanting another rematch. Fans don’t want to watch endless rematches.

Hearn wants a rematch for his defeated fighter Bivol (23-1, 12 KO), but it is not up to him.

His Excellency Turki Alalshikh will have to decide whether he wants Bivol to challenge undisputed champion Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KO) next, or put him in line for a shot at defeating one of the massive hitters David Benavidez and David Morrell. or Joshua Buatsi.

Bivol fought well in the first four rounds, but didn’t do much in the last eight. In rounds one through four, very few punches were landed by either fighter. Hearn claims Bivol won four of the first five or all rounds.

This, of course, was not possible because Bivol did not have enough attack to win more than two. The punch statistics were very similar, but Beterbievs’ shots were much stronger.

“I’m not going to go back into my shell. “I’m a bit bad at dealing with emotions during a fight.” I’m doubling it. We won the fight and we want a rematch,” said Eddie Hearn Boxing in the match roominsisting that his fighter Dmitry Bivol deserved to win against Artur Beterbiev and now demands a rematch.

“The scorecard of 116-112 shocked me and I thought it was unacceptable. I was amazed at how three judges and none of them gave Dmitry Bivol this fight, looking at the overall reaction. I truly believe that Dmitry Bivol deserves to be the undisputed champion.

Hearn shouldn’t have been shocked by the 116-112 score as it was obvious Beterbiev had taken over the fight in the final six rounds. Bivol did nothing but operate his Sugar Ray Leonard style, which he copied from Ray’s fight with Marvin Hagler. Many fans who saw her many years ago found the fight controversial.

“I thought Bivol boxed incredibly well. He fired several rounds at the end of the fight. He should be more dynamic in these rounds. For me the winner was Dmitry Bivol. If you really know boxing, you know what Dmitry Bivol was doing in this fight.

“If you look at most of that fight, he was brilliant. Artur fired so many shots, but how many did he hit cleanly? Where I was sitting three rows back, everyone gave it to Dmitry Bivol.

“Beterbiev landed a lot of punches later in the fight. In the initial phase of the fight, he almost missed. I felt after four or five rounds it was either a pristine attack or I gave Beterbiev one round,” Hearn said.

Again, neither fighter landed many punches in the first half of the fight, but Beterbiev was the one who punched much harder. When they landed, Beterbiev’s shots were heard and made a lot of noise.

“This particular judge didn’t get it right,” Hearn said of the judge who awarded Beterbiev the score 116-112. “I was 8-4 [for Bivol]. 7-5 is truly unbiased. From where I was sitting, six feet from the ring, I felt that Dmitry Bivol was in control for most of the fight,” Hearn said.

The judge, who awarded the score 116-112, apparently noticed that Beterbiev dominated the second half, like many others, and won at least two of the first six rounds. It’s simple to get the same result because Bivol did nothing in the second fight. He didn’t win the first six rounds. At best, Bivol won three of the first six and then succumbed to defeat in the last six.

Patience.

It’s not the first word that comes to mind when describing a fighter who – until his last fight – knocked out every opponent he faced.

For Artur Beterbiev, patience has defined his 175-pound championship reign. Every day of his seven-year title reign, he was certain that the time would come when he would have every piece of the right airy heavyweight equipment in his hands.

That moment came on October 12, when he defeated Dmitry Bivol to win the RING Championship and fully unify the 175-pound division.

“When I first won the IBF belt, this dream was always in me,” Beterbiev told The Ring. “I always believed this day would come.

“It happened a few days ago and I’m very content.”

This was evident on his content yet humble face when it was announced that he had won by majority decision at the Kingdom Arena in Riyad, Saudi Arabia. Beterbiev (21-0, 20 knockout) went the distance for the first time in his career. He had expected this day to come eventually, even though he had always avoided looking at his scorecards before.

In the match with Bivol (23-1, 12 KO), it was expected that Beterbiev would have to employ some novel tricks. Both were undefeated, widely considered two of the best airy heavyweights in the world and among the best in the sport on a pound-for-pound basis.

Beterbiev never expects to defeat his opponents, even though it happened many times during his long reign. He will always be the physically stronger fighter no matter who he faces at or near airy heavyweight. Bivol did have a size advantage and – on paper – was considered the better boxer.

It remains debatable whether that last part still holds true after twelve rounds of the championship. At least Beterbiev answered many questions about how he would react when his opponent didn’t go down.

“I was content that the fight went twelve rounds,” Beterbiev insisted. “Because I have to prove that I’m just not looking for a knockout. It’s always the same in every fight. If that happens, that’s fine.

If not, we have shown that we box well for twelve rounds and we can win that way too.”

Beterbiev had to box and fight all twelve rounds to earn the biggest victory of his storied but frustrating career.

Bivol was able to quickly take the lead. What’s more, he was ahead on all three scorecards after nine rounds.

Much has been written about the advice given from Beterbiev’s corner kick before the start of the eleventh round. Renowned head coach Marc Ramsay informed his protégé that he needed a knockout to win.

This sense of urgency is not uncommon in any world-class corner. Hall of Famer, multiple Coach of the Year Freddie Roach often calls on his players to “put him on his ass” before the final round. Most elite coaches know how to get the most out of their athlete in a arduous situation.

This is what happened in Beterbiev’s corner. The 39-year-old world-class fighter, a devastating Russian, responded in kind.

“I didn’t think I was losing, but I wasn’t thinking about the results,” Beterbiev admitted. “I was more focused on the fight. I’ve maxed out in the last few rounds. Honestly, you should always have enough energy to finish the fight in these two or three rounds. It is significant to have no energy left after the fight is over.

“You give your all in the last rounds. I did it when my corner told me to win. They always tell me I need a knockout. I knew that meant winning the rest of the fight and having no energy at the end. After 12, you no longer need this energy^vol round. You need this to win the fight.

Fittingly, the closest Beterbiev came to reaching that distance as a professional was his first competitive win.

Enrico Koelling was hopelessly outclassed in his IBF airy heavyweight title fight in November 2017 in Fresno, California. However, the German fighter saw the airy of day when the bell rang to start the 12th and final round.

Beterbiev knew that his opponent was only there to survive, not to win the title at stake. He capped it off with two knockdowns to force a stoppage with just 37 seconds left in the night.

The fight itself marked the end of a layoff of over ten months as Beterbiev recovered from shoulder surgery. The 2008 and 2012 Russian Olympian fought just his 12th professional fight in more than four years as a professional, seeking his first major title.

Injuries, illnesses and the global pandemic have further slowed down his momentum. Since winning the IBF belt, Beterbiev has fought only nine times.

The key was to make it count every time he stepped into the ring. He did so against then undefeated lineal/WBC champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk in their lineal/WBC/IBF unification fight in October 2019. After nine rounds, Beterbiev was losing two of three points before stopping Gvozdyk in the tenth.

It was his finest hour as a professional, but also his last for the next 17 months. The pandemic and a series of delays stalled his IBF-mandated title defense, which even resulted in a change of opponent. He eventually resumed his career in March 2021. Two fights later, Beterbiev added the WBO belt to his collection.

Three fights later, Beterbiev left boxing’s newest hotbed as the undisputed king of the airy heavyweight division.

“Unfortunately, injuries are part of this sport. Delays are part of this sport,” Beterbiev noted. “All these different things come our way for a reason.

“Finally, something very good has been created. I have always stayed in shape and patiently waited for this moment in my career to come.

Even that moment was postponed for four months as Beterbiev recovered from a knee injury and subsequent surgery. He and Bivol were scheduled to meet in June, even then in a fight that most believed wasn’t possible before 2024.

This lively changed with the emergence of Turki Alalshikh and the Riyadh Season group, which invested heavily in the sport. Moreover, the team has made aggressive efforts to ensure championship fights at the absolute highest level.

Without this current move, the airy heavyweight division has remained divided for 22 years and counting.

Thanks to this, Beterbiev was not only able to achieve success, but also found himself in a country where he could fully embrace the faith shortly after the victory that defined his career.

“Yes, it made the moment more special. “Islam is a substantial part of Saudi culture,” said Beterbiev, a devout Muslim. “But I am true to my faith no matter where I am in the world.

“Winning here made it a little different, but the goal was always to win the undisputed title wherever the fight was.”

Fittingly, the path to undisputed position came against an opponent who had been waiting for this moment as long as he had. Bivol was promoted to the full WBA airy heavyweight title list just a week before Beterbiev’s IBF title reign began.

“It was always meant to be like this, [Bivol] and I fight for everything,” Beterbiev insisted. “I never doubted this day would come. I am grateful to His Excellency (Alalshikh) and those who made this happen. Every step of my career has led to this. This was always my destiny.

“My belief that this day would come led me to what I could do in the ring to make my dream come true.”

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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.”