Artur Beterbiev defeated Dmitry Bivol by majority decision to become the first undisputed light heavyweight champion in the four-belt era, in a rare match between the two best fighters in the division.
Beterbiev (21-0, 20), the WBC, WBO and IBF titleholder, added the WBA belt, but saw his KO streak end. He was boxing’s only champion with a 100% knockout ratio entering the fight, but he needed to go the distance against Bivol. Beterbiev has been a 175-pound champion since 2017.
The fight has been years in the making. There hasn’t been an undisputed champion in the division since Roy Jones Jr. vacated one of his titles in 2000 (three-belt era).
Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) had made 12 defenses of the belt before facing Beterbiev.
Beterbiev and Bivol were scheduled to fight June 1 but a month before the bout, Beterbiev suffered a ruptured meniscus and underwent knee surgery, forcing the postponement. Bivol wanted to keep busy and fought Malik Zinad on that date, a sixth-round TKO victory, his only stoppage win in his past 10 fights.
Stay here for fight results and round-by-round analysis.
Source: espn.com