Dmitry Bivol beats Artur Beterbiev, becomes light heavyweight champ

Dmitry Bivol defeated Artur Beterbiev in the main event of "The Last Crescendo" on Saturday by majority decision in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, becoming the new undisputed light heavyweight champion and handing Beterbiev his first loss.

Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) -- who won the rematch 114-114, 116-112 and 115-113 -- said he felt better physically and mentally than in the first fight in October.

"I'm just so happy," said Bivol, who claimed the WBC, WBA, WBO and IBF light heavyweight titles. "I went through a lot the last year and this is so exciting. I was better. I was pushing myself more. I was more confident. I was lighter. I just wanted to win so much today."

Meanwhile, Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs) said he felt he did enough to win the rematch, having won the first fight.

"We can do the third fight, no problem," said Beterbiev, who declined to go into further detail.

Similarly to the first fight, this match was highly fast paced. Beterbiev and Bivol traded punches throughout the duration, showing little sign of slowing down.

Beterbiev appeared to get behind in the fight early on as Bivol was landing the better combinations. By Round 4, Beterbiev began to find his rhythm and allow Bivol to come to him through Round 8.

The pace slowed considerably in Rounds 9 and 10, but Bivol forced Beterbiev into a must-win situation.

In the 12th and final round, both men emptied the tank as Beterbiev cut Bivol over his left eye, followed by a counter shot from Bivol to close the fight.

In a high-stakes heavyweight co-main event, Joseph Parker knocked out Martin Bakole with a right hand to the temple with under a minute left in Round 2. Parker (36-3) said after the win that he wants to remain as active as possible and hopes to fight for the undisputed heavyweight title soon.

"I'm fit, I'm strong, I'm healthy and I'm sharp thanks to (my corner)," Parker said in the ring. "The conversation (with trainer Andy Lee) was to be patient and break (Bakole) down. How about I fight for the world title next? How about I fight for the world title? I would like to be champion of the world again, too."

Meanwhile, Bakole (21-2), who stepped in for Daniel Dubois (illness) under a week's notice, suffered his first loss since October 2018.

Shakur Stevenson had no trouble with late replacement Josh Padley. Stevenson (23-0) defeated Padley (15-1) by ninth-round TKO to retain his WBC lightweight title.

Carlos Adames and Hamzah Sheeraz fought to a split draw 115-115, 118-110, 114-114, allowing Adames to hang onto his WBC middleweight world title. It is unknown whether the fight will be rebooked, as both men appeared surprised upon the decision being read. Adames (24-1-1) has not lost since November 2019. Sheeraz (21-0-1) remains unbeaten, as it was his first fight requiring the judges' scorecards in nearly seven years.

Vergil Ortiz outlasted Israil Madrimov by unanimous decision 117-111, 115-113, 115-113 to successfully defend his WBC interim junior middleweight crown. Ortiz (23-0) remained unbeaten by outstriking Madrimov (10-2-1) 106-97 in power punches, according to CompuBox statistics.

Madrimov has lost his last two fights.

Agit Kabayel used his body punches to send Zhilei Zhang to the canvas, earning a sixth-round KO to become the WBO interim light heavyweight champion. Kabayel (26-0) handed Zhang (27-3-1) his first stoppage loss, as his other two defeats came against Parker and Fillip Hrgovic by majority and unanimous decision, respectively.

In other action on the card, Callum Smith defeated Joshua Buatsi by unanimous decision -- 119-110, 115-113, 116-112 -- to become WBO interim light heavyweight champion.

--Field Level Media