RIYADH, Saudi Arabia (AP) — Artur Beterbiev beat Dmitry Bivol by a points decision to become the first undisputed light heavyweight champion in the division for more than 20 years.
The 39-year-old Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) had won all 20 of his previous fights by knockout but was forced the distance by his fellow Russian rival in Riyadh in the early hours of Sunday morning in a fight that had several swings of momentum and was almost too close to call.
“I feel not bad," Beterbiev said to DAZN after the fight. "I wanted to box with more quality. I’ll be better one day. It was a little bit uncomfortable."
“Of course, it was a tough fight because Dmitry is a tough champion and he has tough skills, better than me.”
Throughout the bout there was never much between the two dominant fighters of the division as Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs) used his speed to land early blows, while Beterbiev warmed to the task in the middle rounds before a late flurry in the final rounds appeared to clinch it.
“During the fight, we always try to change something," Beterbiev said. "I didn’t deliver more punches, I don’t know. Today I am lucky too.”
In the end, two judges scored it 115-113, 116-112 for Beterbiev, with a third judge scoring it as a 114-114 draw.
“I am a warrior. I have no explanation because it looks like excuses. I am a warrior," Bivol told DAZN. "I don’t know, I did my job but I felt like I could do better but it was just the opinion of some judges.
“Congratulations to Artur. He is powerful, very powerful. I have a bruise from my hand, he hit it and it was so hard.”
It was the first undisputed title fight in the division since 2002 and was the first time all four major world titles — WBO, WBA, IBF and WBC — have been up for grabs in the four-belt era.
They now all belong to Beterbiev.
He came into the bout with the WBC, WBO and IBF light heavyweight titles after defeating Callum Smith by knockout in January, needing just Bivol's WBA belt — which Bivol won with a shock upset points decision over Canelo Alvares in May 2022 — to complete the set.
Both Russians showed patience in the opening rounds before Bivol went to work with his left jab and right hook as his speed began to trouble Beterbiev.
The tide began to turn through the fifth and sixth rounds as Beterbiev began landing his right hook, forcing Bivol onto the defensive.
The bout spurred to life in the seventh as both fighters attacked. A big left by Bivol forced Beterbiev against the ropes, but Beterbiev responded with a heavy jab and short left hook as both fighters ended the round showing damage.
Beterbiev had only been beyond round seven five times in his 20 previous fights, but Bivol was going to make this go the distance here as he was again the more assertive through rounds eight and nine.
But Beterbiev came back again in the 10th with a strong round to leave the fight in the balance and continued the assault into the 11th as a right hook to Bivol’s body was followed by an uppercut in a rare clear round win.
The final round saw Beterbiev up the tempo even more as he sought to extend his incredible record of winning every bout inside the distance. Bivol held on to deny his compatriot a knockout blow but hadn’t done quite enough to clinch it.
Earlier, Australian WBC featherweight champion Skye Nicolson beat Britain’s Raven Chapman by a unanimous points decision in the first-ever women’s world title fight in Saudi Arabia.
AP sports: https://apnews.com/sports
FILE - Artur Beterbiev with Callum Smith, not in photo, attends the weigh-in for their world unified light heavyweight boxing match, Friday, Jan. 12, 2024, in Quebec City.(Patrice Laroche/The Canadian Press via AP, File)
BUFFALO, N.Y. (AP) — Florida Panthers coach Paul Maurice wasn’t ready to jump to conclusions following one loss on how his defending Stanley Cup champions will hold up without captain Aleksander Barkov, who will miss between two and three weeks with a lower body injury.
It also didn’t help that the Panthers were also missing forwards Matthew Tkachuk and Tomas Nosek in a 5-2 loss to the Buffalo Sabres on Saturday night.
“We won’t use today as a judgment,” Maurice said.
And yet, he was disappointed with the lack of pushback the Panthers showed in a game they opened the scoring before giving up four straight goals.
“We’ve won a bunch hockey games in the past without them in our lineup, and you have to play a style of a game that’ll allow that to happen. And we’re not at that,” he said. “We didn’t play a game that you can kind of survive without some guys out of your lineup. But I think we can get better at it.”
Barkov, a two-time Frank J. Selke winner as the NHL’s top defensive forward, was hurt after he crashed into the end boards attempting to prevent Tim Stutzle from scoring an empty-net goal in a 3-1 loss at Ottawa on Thursday. Maurice was optimistic Barkov will return in time for — if not sooner than — the Panthers’ two NHL Global Series games against the Dallas Stars on Nov. 1-2, which are being held in the center’s hometown of Tampere, Finland.
Tkachuk is day to day after being sidelined by an illness. Nosek has missed all three games with an upper body injury sustained last month.
The injuries led to Maurice shuffling his lineup, and forward Patrick Giles making his NHL debut.
The Panthers' goals were scored by defenseman Nate Schmidt and Sam Bennett, who tipped in Sam Reinhart’s point shot for Florida’s first power-play goal of the season.
It wasn’t enough for Florida, which has dropped two straight since a season-opening win over Boston.
“We have what we need in this room” Schmidt said. “Now it’s time for guys to pick up the slack. It’s two guys that are irreplaceable, but we have the guys that can go out and replicate in our system and what we can do.”
Goalie Spencer Knight blamed himself in stopping 22 of 26 shots in his first NHL start in 18 months. Tage Thompson’s go-ahead goal trickled in through Knight's legs on a shot from 25 feet, and he was slow to get up in allowing Henri Jokiharju to make it 3-1 with a shot from the left point.
“I think really that loss starts with me and ends with me. I can’t be making plays like that,” said Knight, who is making a comeback after entering the NHL/NHLPA player assistance program in 2023 to help manage an obsessive-compulsive disorder, and spending last season in the minors.
Knight declined to use Barkov’s absence as an excuse.
“Obviously, when you don’t have him in the lineup, you got to switch things up,” Knight said. “But I think we have enough faith in this room regardless of who’s in and who’s out.”
The Panthers close out their four-game road trip at Boston on Tuesday and Columbus a day later.
AP NHL: https://apnews.com/hub/NHL
Buffalo Sabres center Ryan McLeod (71) is stopped by Florida Panthers goaltender Spencer Knight (30) during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Buffalo Sabres defenseman Owen Power (25) is brought down by Florida Panthers defenseman Aaron Ekblad (5)during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Saturday, Oct. 12, 2024, in Buffalo, N.Y. (AP Photo/Jeffrey T. Barnes)
Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) is unable to prevent Ottawa Senators center Tim Stutzle (18) from scoring on the empty net during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024 in Ottawa, Ontario. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press via AP)
Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov will miss 2-3 weeks with a lower-body injury
Florida Panthers center Aleksander Barkov (16) is helped off the ice by teammates after crashing into the boards with Ottawa Senators center Tim Stutzle, not shown, during the third period of an NHL hockey game, Thursday, Oct. 10, 2024 in Ottawa, Ontario. (Justin Tang/Canadian Press via AP)
Florida Panthers captain Aleksander Barkov will miss 2-3 weeks with a lower-body injury
