Artur Beterbavin will become the first defense of the undisputed lightweight lightweight championships in a rematch against Dmitry Bivol on Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia (Dazn PPV, 11 am ET).
Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KO) defeated Bivol by the decision of the majority in October last year to add WBA belt to his WBC, WBO and IBF titles. For the first time, Beterbiev went a distance, ending with his 20-release KO street. Beterbiev took at least one of the lanes from November 11, 2017-imposing seven years of reign as a master. It will be the 10th defense of the IBF Beterbaview title, the seventh defense of the WBC title, the fourth title of WBO and the first WBA belt.
After victory against Bivol, Beterbiev said he was not elated with his performance and that he had to improve.
“I wanted to hurt with greater quality today,” said Beterbiev. “I don’t know why, but I didn’t like this fight. But one day I will be better. “
Bivol (23-1, 12 KO) suffered the first defeat of his professional career against Beterbaview. He landed more blows than Beterbiev (142–137) and was more effective, which is 34% of these blows to just 20% for the Beterbiewal, but that was not enough. He lost through results cards 113-115, 112-116 and 114-114.
“I have another chance,” said Bivol. “Few people have another chance. People like the fight they saw the first time and want to see her again, see me again in the ring. That’s good, I have to work on it. “
Beterbiev is a petite favorite to win a rematch on -120 for the ESPN plant, while Bivol is -105.
In the cooperation event, Daniel Dubois makes a second defense of his IBF heavyweight title against the former champion Joseph Parker. The winner of the fight could fight Oleksander Usyk for the unquestioned championships.
Dubois (22-2, 21 KO) comes out of the dominant victory in the fifth round over the former United Champion Anthony Joshua in September. Dubois knocked down Joshua in rounds 1, 3 and 4 before the end of KO.
Parker (35-3, 23 KO), former heavyweight champion WBO, rides in five fights, including victory in Deontay Wilder in 2023 and Zhilei Zhang in March last year.
According to ESPN Bet Dubois, he is a favorite to defeat Parker.
Let’s look at both fights with the title numbers with ESPN Research and Compubox data.
Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitriry Bivol
23: Combined number of title fights Beterbaview and Bivol (Bivol 13, Beterbav 10).
3: Boxers born in Russia to have at least three world titles (Beterbiev, Kostya Tsyzu and Sergeey Kovalev).
12: Unquestioned men masters in the era of four boxing strips.
1: The undisputed delicate heavyweight master in the era of four stripes. Beterbiev deserved this distinction thanks to the narrow victory over Bivol in October. With the victory in Saturday’s rematch Beterbiv would only become the seventh warrior in the era of four stripes, which effectively defended the unquestioned title.
50%: The percentage of total blows landed through Bivol against Beterbaiev in their first meeting (84 of 168), against only 29% for Beterbalwal (90 of 306). Bivol was also more effective in JAB, it landed from 23% (58 of 255) to just 13% for Beterbaview (47 of 376). Bivol landed 142 of its 423 total blows (34%), to 137 out of 682 (20%) Beterbiv. Beterbiev was a more vigorous warrior, throwing 259 more blows than Beterbiev and showed constant pressure.
33: Power Punches landed through Bivol in the first six rounds of his first fight, against only 23 for Beterbaview. But this was a different story in the last six rounds, in which Beterbiev landed 67 power beats. In the last two rounds, these numbers have been more impressive for Beterbaview, which landed 29 strokes of power 19.
13.8%: The percentage of landings hit Bivol in his 24 professional fights, including his defeat with Beterbieal. Bivol is one of the best defensive fighters in the world. Only the delicate master Shakur Stevenson allows for a lower percentage (13.7%). Bivol will also land on an impressive 8.4 JAB per round. Compare this with 6.0 for Beterbalwal and only 4.6 for Lightweight Heavyweight Division.
8 and 4: The number of rounds, out of 12 rounds that fought during the first meeting, in which Beterbiev and Bivol were separated by four or smaller blows.
30.1%: The percentage of total Beterbavie blows landed for a round – 18.2 of 60.5.
34%: The percentage of total Bivol blows landed at Beterbaiew in the first fight. Beterbiev’s opponents before the fight Bivol landed only 23.2% of their total blows.
65.2: Interest thrown by Bivol – the highest percentage among masters and pretenders to the title.
7: The number of fights for the title on the main card. The Beterbiv-Bivol 2 combat card contains four fights for the main world titles and three fights for momentary titles.
Title fight: Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitriry Bivol, 12 rounds, Until the unquestioned lightweight heavyweight championships Beterbiv
Title fight: Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker, 12 rounds, up to the IBF Dubois heavyweight title
Title fight: Shakur Stevenson vs. Josh Padley, 12 rounds, for the delicate title WBC Stevenson WBC
Title fight: Carlos Adams vs. Hamzah Sheeraz, 12 rounds, for the title of Adames’ WBC Middle weighing
Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Israil Madrimov, 12 rounds, too ponderous momentary title WBC Junior Middle Wweight
Joshua Batsi vs. Callum Smith, 12 rounds, for Batsi’s WBO Lightweight Heavyweight Title
Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel, 12 rounds, too ponderous WBC massive title
95%: Knockout percentage for Beterbiev in his 21 professional fights, the highest among all current masters. After an outstanding amateur career, the Beterbavi changed the pro later than he is typical of a boxet when he moved to Montreal at the age of 28. He enters a rematch against Bivol at the age of 40, which makes him the second oldest, widely recognizable man’s champion. He has 1-2 in three amateur fights with Utyk, the current united heavyweight champion.
Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker
3: Dubois’s next wins since his losing from Usyk in August. Dubois won seven (everything over space) of his last eight fights.
5: Parker’s winning series. He also won 11 of the last 12 fights. Parker, a former heavyweight master, comes to five wins, including 11 out of the last 12 years. His only loss at that time was against Joe Joyce in 2022.
5.3: Jabs landed through Dubois to Bivol 3.1 on the round.
38.7%: The percentage of Parker’s blow to the body that landed to just 21.2% for Dubois. The average compubex for heavyweight division is 29.5%.
9.3: Total blows landed by opponents of Dubois. He is also defensively responsible for the power of power landed by his opponents. Parker’s opponents land 28.7% of their blows, 35.3% of their blows. Dubois lands 14.3 strokes to the round (32.2%) compared to 12 for Parker (28.5%).
88%: Percentage of Ko Dubois in his 24 fights. Of his 22 wins, 21 were in space – 95% KO, the highest of all boxers in the ESPN heavyweight list.
“Whether it’s at Wembley Stadium, the MGM Grand in Las Vegas or outside my backyard, it’s still five years too tardy.” This is what Darshan Desai from Yahoo Sport claims in a recent column, in which he states directly that the supposedly upcoming Tyson Fury-Anthony Joshua fight is already past its prime and has little significance. Let’s face it, this man is right. For whatever reasons, good or bad, Anthony, Joshua and Tyson Fury never had the opportunity to step into the ring while they were both in charge. And that, honestly, is very bad.
However, this could be a very good fight, worth saving. I say “maybe” because I’m still not convinced it will happen. People talk about things like location and little things like that. The truth is that these two came close to fighting, but they never did. Now their best days are behind them. There are more and more adolescent goats, Oleksandr Usyk conquered them twice apiece. What are these two fighting about… what exactly? Well, let me tell you: these two huge heavyweights are eager to fight because a brawl between them will answer the one question that makes boxing great: which one is the better fighter?
We still don’t have an answer to that question, so I’ll be fascinated to see how the Joshua-Fury fight ends if it actually happens. I’ll repeat: I’m not entirely convinced. One thing is certain, this is the last chance for this fight to become an vital event in the sport of boxing. Seriously, if it lasts beyond 2026, it will be an ancient man’s game…. At least that’s how some people will see it. It will certainly be seen as past its sell-by date.
Of course, if this fight does happen and turns into a thriller, the rematch will be widely seen on television or, in the parlance of the state-of-the-art world, streaming. People thought Ray Leonard and Tommy Hearns had weakened before their rematch in the tardy 1980s, but the fight turned out to be a great fight, a classic worthy of the name. If such a match takes place between these two Englishmen, no one will care whether it is relevant or not. The emotions associated with the competition alone will make it vital.
It’s challenging to imagine that any of these men will actually have to fight each other or anyone at all at this point. They have made untold fortunes for themselves, and while boxers are known for leaking millions of dollars, none of them are expected to be on their doorstep anytime soon. However, warriors fight even when they are already at their peak, even when it is unsafe to continue fighting. There may be fewer of them than before, but both Fury and Joshua have a competitive spirit. And that still counts, even in an era where high-level players can go years without slipping between the ropes.
So yes, people will be interested in watching this fight. While the criticism is valid and well-founded, these two not-so-young men are adolescent enough to draw crowds. It won’t be vital. It certainly won’t be as it could be. But it will be something. And when it comes to fighting fans, sometimes something is just good enough. It shouldn’t be like this… but unfortunately it happens sometimes. Let’s hope the fight, if it actually happens, will be a doozy. It still has the makings of a great case.
“Because before this fight, I would love to fight George Kambosos,” Vargas told Sean Zittel when discussing potential opponents after the Mills fight.
Emiliano stressed that his focus remains on Mills, but made it clear that he believes he is getting closer to the title.
“I’m going to show the world that I’m ready to fight for the title,” Vargas said.
The son of former two-time world champion Fernando Vargas believes that a good performance on the Jaron Ennis-Xander Zayas card can give him significant progress in the competition.
“After this fight, I would love to have a title eliminator or former world champion,” Emiliano said. “I’m second in the WBO rankings, 12th in the WBC. I’m there and I’m knocking on that door.”
Vargas comes into the fight off a win over Agustin Quintana in February. While this performance sparked debate among some fans, Emiliano considers the innings he saved as valuable experience in continuing to develop his game.
The undefeated fighter claims that during the last camps he expanded his training team and worked intensively on movement, angles and fighting under pressure. He also recently spent time in David Benavidez’s camp, drawing inspiration from the former world champion’s work ethic and aggressive style.
If Emiliano beats Mills on Saturday, attention will quickly turn to who will be next. From his comments, Kambosos is at the top of the list.
Kambosos, a former unified lightweight champion, would represent the most recognizable name of Vargas’ career and potentially take him one step closer to the title eliminator he thinks he wants next.
Robert Segal is a boxing reporter at Boxing News 24 with over a decade of experience covering fight news, previews and analysis. Known for his first-hand reporting and in-ring perspective, he delivers authoritative coverage of champions, challengers and emerging talent from around the world.
The future of Gervonta Davis remains one of the most talked about topics in boxing.
The Baltimore star hasn’t fought since a controversial draw with Lamont Roach Jr., which many observers felt should have gone against him after Roach was denied a knockout. Since then, a combination of legal issues and uncertainty surrounding his return plans have left fans confused about what will happen next.
Recently, however, there have been signs that “Tank” Davis is getting closer to a return. The WBA has ordered him to defend his lightweight world title against mandatory challenger Floyd Schofield, with Schofield’s camp previously suggesting progress was being made behind the scenes.
While Schofield was considered the favorite, another familiar option could now emerge.
On Sunday evening on social media, three-division world champion Devin Haney revealed that he was contacted directly by the “Tanka” team.
“I think Gervonta has gained some balls…his team has reached! We can just fight!”
I think Gervonta has gained some balls. His team reached for it! We might end up fighting! 😅
The timing is especially engaging given Haney’s current position. The WBO welterweight champion has recently been linked to both Shakur Stevenson and mandatory challenger Keyshawn Davis, while “Tank’s” immediate future appeared to be tied to Schofield.
A fight between any two fighters: Davis, Haney and Stevenson would be one of the biggest fights in boxing today. However, there are two main obstacles standing in the way of a Davis-Haney fight.
The first is Haney’s mandatory duty. WBO president Gustavo Olivieri recently confirmed that the champion has been ordered to face Keyshawn Davis next and will not receive an exception to fight another fight.
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