There was plenty of combat action that went down last Saturday (Feb. 22, 2025) including UFC Seattle, which left several fighters feeling the post-fight blues. Among them was Henry Cejudo, who suffered his third straight defeat at the hands of Song Yadong via technical decision (see it again here).
But there was another major event going down across the world as the highly-anticipated boxing rematch between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol to decide who the undisputed king at Light Heavyweight truly is went down in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Four months earlier, Beterbiev handed Bivol his first-ever loss in the same location, coughing up his WBA (Super) and IBO titles, in the process. But many weren’t convinced of the score, feeling that Bivol should have come out the winner. But that’s the beauty of combat sports, a rematch can be made with the snap of a finger, and that’s just what happened much to fight fan’s delight.
Once again, the two men came out determined to dictate the pace, but it was Beterbiev who was getting the best of the former champion, walking him down and tagging him with big shots. Bivol did use his jab nicely in the first few rounds to not get completely blown out, but it seems as if Beterbiev was on his way to another win. But halfway through the fight, the tides started to turn in Bivol’s favor, as he was the one landing the cleaner punches and combinations.
Once the fight ended, fans were treated to another epic war between the two best 175-poind fighters in the game today. This time around, however, it was Bivol who was awarded the majority decision with the exact same scores he lost with four months prior.
It’s a tough blow for Beterbiev, who suffered the first loss of his career, and all the titles that made him undisputed which included the WBA Super, WBC, IBF, WBO, IBO, and The Ring belts. He also loses out on a potential mega-fight against undefeated (30-0) WBC Interim Light Heavyweight champion, David Benavidez, which would have been on deck had he won.
After the loss, Beterbiev revealed that he never wanted a rematch but insists a trilogy fight is a must now that the series is tied at one a piece.
“I don’t want to talk about the decision. It’s tough. I congratulate Bivol and his team,” he said post-fight via The Ring. “I don’t know {what was different}. I think this fight was better than the first time. Actually, I didn’t even want the second fight. It wasn’t my choice. But, no problem. We can do the third fight. I think this fight was better than the first fight. Now it’s my time to come back.”
While a trilogy fights seems like the logical step to take, Bivol said after the bout that he will consider all of his options, including a move up in weight for his next challenge.
“Maybe we could talk about cruiserweight. I will think about it also, why not. I have belts here [at light heavyweight]. I need to check cruiserweight. Why not,” he stated via ESPN. “
I’m open for any fight, but today I want to enjoy that I’m undisputed champion. I want to take care of my health because I have some issues. I want to heal myself and then move forward again. Trilogy, Benavides, Canelo. As always, I just wait for offer then I say yes.”
If Bivol decides to postpone a third fight against Beterbiev, then perhaps the former champion can face Albert Ramirez in the meantime. Ramirez is the No. 2 ranked Light Heavyweight on the WBA rankings, and is undefeated at 18-0 with 15 knockouts.
At the end of the day, however, a trilogy fight against Bivol is the move to make because a lot can happen if they go a different route for their respective next challenges, and a loss by either man derails the momentum they have built for a third and final fight.