Dmitry Bivol put on a boxing masterclass on Saturday in Saudi Arabia and retained his WBA super light heavyweight championship after a comprehensive dominance over Lyndon Arthur at the Kingdom Arena in Ryad.
The three judges gave the Russian fighter a score of 120-107 in a fight that he dominated at will against the British to reaffirm that he is one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in the world today and a very difficult fighter to beat.
Bivol came into the fight with great intent and was ahead for much of the fight. Excellent footwork allowed him to cut the ring with relative ease and keep Arthur close at all times, in addition to constant use of the jab, with which he repeatedly connected despite having visibly inferior reach.
As the rounds progressed, Bivol gained confidence with combinations, counterattacks and power punches to both the face and sides that began to hurt the challenger’s humanity. In the 11th round he managed to knock down Arthur and although he did not achieve the knockout he was looking for, he took a very lucid victory.
It was the 22nd victory in the professional career of the Kyrgyzstan-born Russian, who is undefeated and has knocked out 13 of his opponents. Arthur, for his part, has 23 wins, 2 losses and 16 knockouts.
