The stage is set in Saudi’s capital Riyadh for an epic all-Russian light heavyweight title unification as Dmitry Bivol gears up for the biggest fight of his career against Artur Beterbiev. With this being the first undisputed title fight in the division since 1999, the hype around the card has rendered both the undefeated champions a staggering payout in millions.
As per certain estimations, both Russians are expected to take home a whopping $10 million each. In addition to that, this will be the first time in the modern era that all four light-heavyweight belts are on the line – WBO, WBA, IBF, and WBC.
While the stone-cold Russian, Beterbiev holds the WBO, WBC, and IBF titles, Bivol is putting his WBA belt into the equation in an effort to usurp all four in one stride.
The bout is scheduled for October 12, 11:00 PM UK / 1:00 AM Saudi Arabia at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. ESPN + takes care of the streaming rights in North America whereas fans in the UK can catch the action on DAZN and TNT Sports PPV.
Meanwhile, Matchroom boxing promoter Eddie Hearn deemed it could not get bigger than this, labeling it the “best fight in boxing.”
Beterbiev vs Bivol – “The best fight in boxing”
Well, the hype is through the roof for this fight as the boxing world awaits its first-ever undisputed champion since 1999, almost a quarter of a century.
Even though the fighters remain strictly respectful, not giving in to trash talks or insults, fans are stoked for this one as the undefeated Russians put their belts and reputations on the line.
As of now, Bivol is 23-0 with his latest win coming against Malik Zinad and a notable win against Canelo Alvarez whereas, Beterbiev is coming off an injury but boasts a 20-0 record and a KO rate of 100%!
Reflecting on the upcoming bout, Hearn, who also happens to represent Bivol, said:
“For me, it’s the best fight in boxing. This one you don’t have to sell to fight fans. They know. The educated fight fans, the casual fight fans, it doesn’t really matter. The wider world needs to know just how great this fight is: two undefeated world champions, every belt in boxing on the line, the glory, the ownership of the light heavyweight division. It doesn’t get any bigger.”
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