Bivol formally asks organizations to order immediate Beterbiev rematch
After undisputed 175 title fight ends in disputed majority decision, both sides interested but Arum suggests timing may require interim bouts
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Former WBA light heavyweight titlist Dmitry Bivol on Wednesday formally requested that all four major sanctioning organizations order an immediate rematch of his majority decision loss to Artur Beterbiev.
Beterbiev, who held the lineal title and the WBC, WBO and IBF belts, outpointed Bivol to claim his WBA title last Saturday at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, becoming the first undisputed light heavyweight champion in 25 years — since Roy Jones Jr. in 1999 — and the first undisputed champion of the four-belt era in the 175-pound division.
Beterbiev won the highly competitive and very close fight by scores of 116-112 and 115-113 while one judge scored it 114-114. Many saw it as a fight that could have gone either way in a close call or a draw. Fight Freaks Unite scored it 114-114.
On Wednesday, Bivol attorney Patrick English sent a letter to the presidents of the organizations, Mauricio Sulaiman of the WBC, Paco Valcarcel of the WBO, Daryl Peoples of the IBF and Gilberto Mendoza of the WBA, seeking an immediate rematch to the most significant light heavyweight fight in years.
In making Bivol’s case, English invoked one of the most famous controversial decisions in boxing history, the split draw for the undisputed heavyweight title between Lennox Lewis and Evander Holyfield in 1999. English is the longtime attorney for Main Events, which promoted Lewis.
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