Fight of the Year: Artur Beterbiev Squeaked by Dmitry Bivol to Claim Undisputed Light Heavyweight Championship

December 31, 2024
1 month

The most discussed boxing match of the year, in terms of casual interest, was the fight that brought Mike Tyson out of retirement to see him square off against Jake Paul. With the issues with the broadcast on Netflix, plus Tyson’s issues with age wearing away his skills, the fight turned out to be a dud.

But that should have been expected by anyone who has half a brain. When it comes to BoxingNews.com’s fight of the year, the clear winner was a battle for the undisputed light heavyweight championship. While the judging was controversial, there were plenty of highlights in the battle between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.

The two men fought ferociously. There was no clear winner at the end of the fight. A majority of media and fans believed Bivol won the fight. However, the latest boxing news online shows that those observers’ opinions didn’t match up with the judges.

Beterbiev won a majority decision and picked up a lot of desire to see the two men fight again.

Bivol’s Stock Was at All-Time High

People who followed Bivol’s career since the beginning knew he had immense potential. But Bivol introduced himself to a wider audience in May 2022 when he beat Canelo Alvarez to retain his WBA (Super) lightweight title. Canelo has been in the discussion for the best pound-for-pound fighters for a decade.

Bivol, who moved to 20-0 following that win, used the momentum from that fight to pick up three more victories. Following a sixth-round TKO win over Malik Zinad in June 2024, he signed to fight Beterbiev, a highly-regarded power puncher.

Beterbiev Doesn’t Like to Get Judges Involved

Beterbiev built his reputation by overwhelming opponents with his significant power. He has a 21-0 record and has finished 20 of those fights by knockout. The only one of Beterbiev’s fights that went the distance was his battle with Bivol.

Beterbiev claimed his first world title when he beat Enrico Kolling in November 2017 for the vacant IBF light heavyweight championship. He would add the WBC belt when he knocked out Oleksandr Gvozdyk in the 10th round in October 2019.

Beterbiev also claimed the WBO light heavyweight crown in June 2022.

Beterbiev Was Running Out of Time

Winning the undisputed title may have seemed like a distant dream to Beterbiev. The Russian fighter is 40 years old and has a lot to prove against Bivol. Entering the fight, Beterbiev was the only current champion with a 100 percent knockout rate.

While Beterbiev didn’t maintain that moniker, he impressed fight fans with his ability to still land power punches. He wasn’t nearly as accurate at Bivol, but still landed 90 power punches during their battle. Bivol outlanded Beterbiev 142-134.

Bivol also connected on 34 percent of his total punches thrown, compared to 20 percent from Beterbiev. What made Bivol so effective was his ability to counter Beterbiev’s power jab with a left hook of his own.

The problem was the counter shots didn’t do much to deter Beterbiev’s forward march. Beterbiev continued to wade forward and continued to search for a knockout blow.

End of Fight and Reaction

While there were plenty of power punches that were thrown between both fighters, neither man was able to score a knockdown. While the technical battle thrilled the people in attendance, there was plenty of anxiety before the scorecards were read. While Bivol was the more accurate fighter, anyone who follows fights knows that power punches often score bigger with judges.

Bivol had noticeable damage on his face from the 12-round war he had just been in. Whatever the reason was for the decision, one judge scored the bout a draw while the other two gave it to Bivol.

Promoter Eddie Hearn was outraged by the decision and immediately said he would like a rematch. Interestingly, Beterbiev was also disappointed and said he wouldn’t mind another opportunity to fight Bivol.

The rematch between the two fighters will be one of the most anticipated fights of 2025.

Other Candidates for Fight of the Year

While Ryan Garcia has gone off the deep end since he beat Devin Haney, there is no doubt that his performances stand out as one of the best of the year. Garcia dominated Haney in an impressive display. However, as is always the case with Garcia, there was plenty of controversy.

Garcia came in way overweight and later failed a post-fight drug test. But after Garcia was dominated by Gervonta Davis, many people believed Garcia was overhyped on social media.

Despite the controversy, Garcia showed he is capable of high-level performances when he bullied Haney. Another fight that stood out was the first fight between Oleksandr Usyk and Tyson Fury. There were a lot of things that made this battle special.

Usyk and Fury were battling for the undisputed heavyweight championship. That was something that hadn’t happened since the late 1990s. When the fight started in Saudi Arabia, there was plenty of action for fans to keep up with.

Usyk scored the only knockdown in the ninth round. He would go on to win a split decision to capture all of the bouts. While Usyk would end up being stripped of the IBF belt, it was fun to see all four of the major belts consolidated after such a long time.

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By Dean McHugh.

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