Promoter Eddie Hearn says it’ll be up to Turki Alalshikh to decide who Dmitry Bivol will fight next following his 12-round majority decision win over undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev The Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
There has been talk of a trilogy match between Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) and Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs) if Dmitry had won tonight. However, Hearn mentioned other options for his fighter Bivol, saying there’s the rematch with Canelo Alvarez or a title defense against WBC mandatory David Benavidez.
Hearn’s Vision
The way Hearn’s eyes lit up when he mentioned Canelo’s name as a possibility for Bivol, he could be the one that he’s more interested in Dmitry fighting next. Canelo has a bout against Terence Crawford on September 13th. So unless Turki wants to try and push for the Canelo-Bivol rematch in December, it’ll need to wait until 2026.
If it’s up to Hearn, Bivol will be fight Canelo next. That’s the one he wants, and it’s also the more winnable one. The way Bivol fought tonight, David Benavidez would walk him down and stop him. He wouldn’t get tired the way Beterbiev appeared to do and stop throwing punches. There’s no hesitation for Benavidez.
Beterbiev, 40, ran out of gas after fighting well through the first half of tonight’s fight. Going into the second part of the fight, it looked like he was heading towards a knockout, but he stopped punching. The only explanation is that he gassed out. Beterbiev still fought well enough to deserve to win six rounds, but only one judge saw it that way. The other two had it for Bivol.
The scores
– 115-113: Bivol
– 116-112: Bivol
– 114-114
“It was probably the best boxing performance I’ve ever seen live. It was unbelievable,” said Eddie Hearn to Ring Magazine, talking about his fighter Dmitry Bivol’s win over Artur Beterbiev on Saturday night. “He made Beterbiev follow him around, worked angles.
“I feel like he deserved it the first time around [against Beterbiev]. No arguments this time, even though someone tried to rob us with a draw. It was a clear win. This time, Beterbiev started fast and probably tired a little bit. It was one-way traffic for a couple of rounds. He looked so dangerous.
“Yeah, what [Turki Alalshikh] wants. Benavidez, Canelo and triligy. The first fight was a 10 out of 10. The next one will be even better,” said Hearn.
Last Updated on 02/22/2025
