Artur Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs), became the division’s first undisputed champion of the four-belt era with a hard-fought twelve-round majority decision over WBA champion Dmitry Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) on Saturday night at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Beterbiev dictated much of the action, applying relentless pressure, while the quicker Bivol relied on his jab and counterpunching to stay competitive.

Bivol used his footwork to stay out of range and landed in bursts, but Beterbiev had a dominant seventh round that shifted the momentum.

Despite Bivol’s success in the later rounds, Beterbiev’s aggression prevailed, earning him the victory with scores of 114-114, 115-113, and 116-112.

“I don’t know why, but I didn’t like this fight,” Beterbiev said afterwards. “But I’ll be better one day.”

“It’s not tough,” he said regarding the fight. “It’s like a little bit uncomfortable. He is world champion, too. He has good skills. But today, Allah chose me.”

“During the fight, we always try to change something,” he says. “I wanted to punch him. Maybe that’s why I delivered more punches. I don’t know.”

“It’s a new experience,” Beterbiev said about going the distance. “I’m happy that for that. Even Muhammad Ali have fights [that went the] full distance. I’m not a bad boxer.”

“I have to do everything perfect,” Bivol said “And I don’t have any explanation because it could look like excuses. I just … Congratulations to Artur and his team. He deserves it.”

“He’s powerful,” he said. “Very powerful. And you see, I have a bruise from my from my hand. [His punching] was so hard, even he reached my eye.”

“Why not? Of course,” Bivol said regarding a rematch. “If I had this chance, yes. This is my dream to be undisputed.”

On the undercard, unbeaten IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia (26-0, 20 KOs) retained his title with a sixth-round TKO against Jack Massey (22-3, 12 KOs).

Opetaia methodically wore down Massey with a sustained attack, prompting Massey’s corner to stop the fight at the 2:00 mark of round six.

British heavyweight champion Fabio Wardley (18-0-1, 17 KOs), ranked #8 by the WBC and WBO, #9 by the WBA, and #12 by the IBF, delivered a stunning first-round knockout of Frazer Clarke (8-1-1, 6 KOs).

After their March bout ended in a draw, Wardley left no doubt this time, landing a powerful right hand that floored Clarke at 2:28 of the opening round.

In middleweight action, WBC #3, IBF #5, and WBA #7 contender Chris Eubank Jr. (34-3, 25 KOs) stopped former world title challenger Kamil Szeremeta (25-3-2, 8 KOs) in round seven.

Eubank knocked Szeremeta down in the first and sixth rounds before finishing him with two more knockdowns in the seventh, securing the win at 1:50 and claiming the IBO title.

Photo Courtesy of Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing