Bivol BROKEN: Beterbiev's Ruthless Victory Sees Him Claim Victory Over Favourite

Artur Beterbiev successfully defended his IBF and WBC titles by edging out a narrow victory over the favourite Dmitry Bivol in the highly anticipated light-heavyweight clash.

The victory extended Beterbiev's unbeaten record to 18-0 and established him as one of the leading forces in the division.

As per the official scorecards, the result was as close as the actual contest, despite having moments where a Bivol victory looked possible, two judges scored it 115-113 to Beterbiev, with the third judge going with 116-112 to the Russian warrior.

Both fighters put their body and soul in the ring to achieve the win, however, Beterbiev managed to outbox Bivol in the final rounds by accumulating points due to his aggressive approach and killer instinct in the ring.

Here is how the entire fight went down round by round

Round 1-3: Both fighters showcased their strategic skillset early on. Bivol dominated Rounds 1 and 2 by connecting on long-range jabs which kept the IBF Champion at bay. However, as Round 3 got underway, Beterbiev attempted to find a new gear. The Russian targeted Bivolx27s body but wasnx27t able to land with any conviction. Bivol continued his dominance and appeared to be in control.

Round 4-6: Bivol maintained his calm and continued to try to outbox the hard-hitting Beterbiev, but hereafter the momentum gradually shifted towards the defending Champion. The footwork of Bivol prevented him from landing massive combinations; however, the Russian also successfully protected himself from the incoming attacks in the process.

Round 7-9: Bivolx27s excellent jabs once again became a thorn for the IBF Champion as they gave Bivol an extraordinary edge in terms of precision and accuracy. The middle rounds signalled a critical phase as both fighters pushed with their strong punches resulting in massive collisions. Finally, it was Beterbiev that received applause from the crowd for eventually taking over the combination.

Round 10-12: Bivol attempted an ambitious push in the final three rounds but was brutally knocked down by the rugged Russian in the 12th as he fought an ambitious rearguard battle in the last 2 rounds.

Ultimately the defining story behind the upset belonged to Dmitry Bivol for his inability to utilize his footwork effectively to his optimum advantage. The light-footed Russian, kept making futile attempts of getting past the strong combination and was subjected to consistent hammering as the round got closer to its conclusion.

The highly skilled warriors finally shared their post-fight reflections as Beterbiev mentioned that x22Bivol caught my good shot but could not win because I outboxed him.x22 and similarly, Bivol reckoned that the two judges possibly x22gave him extra rounds when he was just fighting for points rather than actually winning the round.x22 After witnessing the kind of hard hitting performance that Bivol showed in the fight, despite going down in an upset, we will not be surprised if the Russian crowd favourite will come out stronger next time.