WBA LHW champion, Dmitry Bivol is scheduled to face WBC, WBO, and IBF champ Artur Beterbiev on October 12 at the Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia’s Riyadh. The two men, who got their first fight nixed, will be putting everything on the line, including their undefeated records, for the undisputed light heavyweight throne.
While the start time of the event and its streaming partners are to be announced later, the card is stacked with several other exciting matchups with the light heavyweight clash set as the main event attraction. American sensation and champion boxer, Shakur Stevenson is also featured in the card with a bout scheduled against Welsh-Maltese boxer, Joe Cordina, for the WBC lightweight title.
📋 ANNOUNCED: Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol full undercard on Oct 12th in Saudi Arabia:
🥊 Shakur Stevenson vs Joe Cordina
🥊 Chris Eubank Jr vs Kamil Szeremeta
🥊 Fabio Wardley vs Frazer Clarke II
🥊 Jai Opetaia vs Jack Massey
🥊 Ben Whittaker vs Liam Cameron
🥊 Skye Nicolson…— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) August 20, 2024
This will serve as the co-main of the evening while Chris Eubank makes a return to the ring to take on Kamil Szeremeta in a middleweight clash that will enthrall the crowd. All in all, the Beterbiev vs Bivol card features eight bouts including the three mentioned above. The British heavyweight showdown – Fabio Wardley vs. Frazer Clarke is the only heavyweight scrap on the card while Aussie champion, Jai Opetaia will take on Jack Massey with his IBF, The Ring title on the line.
Apart from the star-studded line-up, the matchmakers have added flashy & flamboyant Ben Whittaker to the mix, who is featured to go up against Liam Cameron in a light heavyweight clash. Meanwhile, Raven Chapman will challenge WBC featherweight champion, Skye Nicolson for the title and Mohammed Alakel vs. Jesus Gonzalez is another bout to watch out for.
The light heavyweight champs have also shared their thoughts on the October 12 matchup with Bivol thanking the matchmakers for the stellar fight while Beterbiev kept his words to the bare minimum.
Beterbiev & Bivol speak their minds on the hotly anticipated LHW clash
In about two months, we fight fans will get to witness one of the most highly anticipated bouts in recent memory – Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol. Both undefeated and in their absolute primes, this bout will certainly be a banger with the pugilists putting everything on the line. Bivol is fresh off his TKO win against Malik Zinad, boasting an undefeated record of 23-0, 12 of which are KOs.
On the other side, we have Beterbiev who made easy work of Callum Smith coming in with an unblemished record of 20-0 all of which have been earned by knockouts! While this LHW clash was previously set to headline a star-studded card that included the returning Deontay Wilder facing the in-form Zhilei Zhang, a training injury forced Beterbiev to the bench, extending the date to October 12.
The fighters have since shared their thoughts with Bivol extending his gratitude to the matchmakers as per bigfightweekend.com, saying,
“(It’s) a great fight not only for me, but for boxing fans. Saudi Arabia will make this fight and thank you for this. When I signed a contract to be a pro boxer, I had a goal to be undisputed champion.”
Whereas, the stoic Russian, Betebiev minced his words, keeping it to just a simple line –
“I’m happy to be here, it’s not the first time… I see another belt…. I’m collecting belts and I need one more.”
Tickets for the bout are yet to go on sale with the promoters yet to announce details like start time and streaming partners.
