Bivol faces Arthur but Beterbiev showdown could be on deck
If they get through interim bouts unscathed the top light heavyweights could meet for the undisputed title
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Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, headed by His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, has spent lavishly to bring top sports and entertainment events to the country and it has shown that if there is a fight it wants it can — and will — put up huge sums of money to get it done with little issue.
The track record is there. It bankrolled Tyson Fury-Francis Ngannou on Oct. 28. It is doing the same with the “Day of Reckoning” mega card on Saturday (DAZN PPV and ESPN+ PPV in the U.S., 11 a.m. ET, $39.99) at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh. In a fractured sport where promoters rue working with each other, the Saudis got 13 different promotional entities to work together on the event thanks to the money they are spending.
They also have other huge money fights on deck for Riyadh: Fury-Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight title signed for Feb. 17 and another big-time heavyweight fight between former titleholders Anthony Joshua and Deontay Wilder agreed to for March 9 — as long as neither loses on Saturday’s card on which Joshua will fight Otto Wallin and Wilder meets Joseph Parker.
Dmitry Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs), who was the consensus 2022 fighter of the year due to major wins over Canelo Alvarez and Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez, will defend the WBA light heavyweight title for the 11th time on the undercard against Lyndon Arthur (23-1, 16 KOs), 32, of England.
But there is a much bigger fight that could be in Bivol’s future, one the boxing world has wanted for years, one the fighters have wanted and one the Saudis are interested in staging. It is a showdown for the undisputed championship between Russia’s Bivol and three-belt lineal champion Artur Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KOs), 38, a Russia native, who has lived and boxed his entire pro career out of Montreal.
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There is no guarantee Beterbiev-Bivol will happen but it seems more likely than not as long as Bivol, a heavy favorite against Arthur, wins and Beterbiev does the same in a WBC mandatory defense against Callum Smith (29-1, 21 KOs), 33, of England, a former super middleweight champion, on Jan. 13 at the Videotron Centre in Quebec City, Canada. That fight was postponed from Aug. 19 because Beterbiev suffered a bone infection in his jaw as a byproduct of having had to have a tooth extracted.
“It’s a big goal and when we signed the contract we discussed not only fighting against Lyndon Arthur, we discussed about another fight too for four belts,” Bivol said this week. “We discussed undisputed. (The Saudis) want to make this fight and they can make this fight. This is really good for me. It's what I need.”
Bivol and Beterbiev were among the dozens of champions, former champions and Hall of Famers who traveled to Riyadh for Fury-Ngannou and at the official gala dinner the night before the fight they came face to face and briefly discussed a possible fight, which was caught on video.
But as exciting as the prospect of fighting Beterbiev is to Bivol, he must first handle Arthur, who has won four fights in a row (three by knockout) since being stopped in the fourth round by former world title challenger Anthony Yarde in a December 2021 rematch that gave then one win apiece in their rivalry.
“Every time I get in the ring, I think like this is the best opponent that I will face, and this is the hardest fight of my career,” said Bivol, who returns to the ring after a 13-month layoff. “It helps me to be focused and take my training campy seriously.
“Preparation for this fight has been good. I spent my time in Kyrgyzstan for my training camp. It was a nice time and I had good sparring. I had my last sparring on Monday before my fight on Saturday. Everything is good. Lyndon Arthur a good fighter and he’s a well-schooled boxer. He uses his jab a lot and he moves well. This is going to be a good challenge for me.”
Bivol turned 33 on Monday but put off any celebrations until after the fight with Arthur.
“I try to be the best version of myself every time I get in the ring. I hope we’re going to win,” Bivol said. “Then I can celebrate my birthday properly. My celebration on Monday was two training sessions.”
“Day of Reckoning” PPV lineup
Heavyweights: Anthony Joshua (26-3, 23 KOs) vs. Otto Wallin (26-1, 14 KOs), 12 rounds
Heavyweights: Deontay Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) vs. Joseph Parker (33-3, 23 KOs), 12 rounds
Heavyweights: Daniel Dubois (19-2, 18 KOs) vs. Jarrell Miller (26-0-1, 22 KOs), 10 rounds
Light heavyweights: Dmitry Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) vs. Lyndon Arthur (23-1, 16 KOs), 12 rounds, for Bivol’s WBA title
Heavyweights: Arslanbek Makhmudov (18-0, 17 KOs) vs. Agit Kabayel (23-0, 15 KOs), 10 rounds
Cruiserweights: Jai Opetaia (23-0, 18 KOs) vs. Ellis Zorro (17-0, 7 KOs), 12 rounds, for Opetaia’s lineal title
Heavyweights: Filip Hrgovic (16-0, 13 KOs) vs. Mark De Mori (41-2-2, 36 KOs), 10 rounds
Heavyweights: Frank Sanchez (23-0, 16 KOs) vs. Junior Fa (20-2, 11 KOs), 10 rounds
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Great material again..... excellent journalism. Keep punching. 🥊🥊
Dan, I have a question. While Las Vegas has been the capitol of boxing for decades, it appears that the Saudis are tilting the axis toward them, much as they’re doing in professional golf. Since they seem to have deeper pockets than the casinos in Las Vegas, because it appears that they don’t care about minor details like a profit, will the landscape continue to point to Saudi Arabia? I haven’t seen anything about this from you, and that is probably my fault, how big an influence do you see Saudi Arabia becoming? They certainly seem to have made up lots of ground in a very short time. I would appreciate something from you on the subject in the future. Also, will your “Best of” awards be coming out soon. Back in the day, I was “Keith H from Seattle” on your Friday Boxing chats on espn.com. All the best to you and your family, Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year! 👍👍👍