By: Sean Crose
WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol put his belt and undefeated 21-0 record on the line Saturday in Saudi Arabia when he battled widely unknown Lyndon Arthur (23-1) in a scheduled 12-round bout. However, both men looked strong in the first. Bivol dominated the rhythm. In the second, Bivol was already attacking Arthur with power blows. By the end of the round, the defending champion was really putting his punches together. Bivol hit his man quickly and at will in the third. The fight was turning into a one-sided beatdown.
Bivol continued to attack in the fourth, as Arthur looked for a clean shot that he couldn’t seem to make. Arthur was able to win in the fifth. But was it enough? Bivol dominated Arthur again in the sixth. The seventh was essentially more of the same. Aruthur continued to perform valiantly in the eighth, landing to the body of Bivol. However, Bivol worked on the body himself. In fact, Bivol continued to make easy work of his opponent in the ninth.
No matter how skilled he was, and he was nothing if not skilled, Bivol would not carry out a consistent attack that could end the fight early. And so, in the tenth round, the fight seemed almost stalemate in its own strange way. As if he knew he might be disappointing the fans, Bivol stepped in and dropped Arthur with a dazzling combination at the bell ending the eleventh. Bivol tried to close the show early in the twelfth and final injury, but the brave Arthur was able to stay on his feet until the final bell.
Needless to say, Bivol earned a unanimous decision victory, courtesy of the judges.
