Bivol stops Zinad to retain 175 title; new date for Beterbiev set
After polishing off replacement foe in 6th round, Oct. 12 announced for rescheduled undisputed championship fight
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It was a good night for WBA light heavyweight titlist Dmitry Bivol.
Most notably he retained the title for the 12th time in a sixth-round knockout of Malik Zinad on Saturday night at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in the one bout of the night that was not part of the “5 vs. 5” competition pitting fighters on the Matchroom Boxing roster against those from Queensberry Promotions.
Not only did Bivol score his first knockout since 2018 — he went nine straight fights without one — it was also announced in the ring after the bout by Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, that the highly anticipated showdown between Bivol and three-belt champion Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed crown has been rescheduled for Oct. 12 to be part of the opening ceremonies of the next Riyadh Season festival.
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