Home Top Stories It wasn’t easy, but Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol is finally happening

It wasn’t easy, but Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol is finally happening

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It wasn’t easy, but Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol is finally happening


THERE ARE UNDISPUTED championship boxing fights, and then there are genuine summit meetings. Saturday’s offering in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, is the latter and will crown not just the best light heavyweight in the world, but the top 175-pounder of a generation.

Artur Beterbiev — boxing’s only champion with a 100% KO ratio — will put his WBC, WBO and IBF titles on the line while Dmitry Bivol will risk his WBA belt in a fight for all the marbles. For the past seven years, the pair of Russian fighters have dominated the light heavyweight division, but myriad reasons prevented a clash to decide who’s best.

Since 2017, it has been Beterbiev, Bivol and then everyone else at 175 pounds. Their greatness extends beyond the weight class, though: They’re also pound-for-pound mainstays (since mid-2022 on ESPN rankings). Bivol is ESPN’s No. 4 while Beterbiev is No. 6. The ESPN BET odds illustrate just how competitive this fight figures to be: Bivol is -135 while Beterbiev is +110.



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