Beterbiev vs. Bivol: everything you need to know about the fight for the title of undisputed world champion.
The 12-round match will take place in the light heavyweight division, which means the weight limit will be 79.4 kg. The IBF, WBA, WBC, and WBO titles will be on the line.
When will the fight take place
The fight is scheduled for the night of Saturday, February 22, to Sunday, February 23, 2025, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.
On the undercard, there will be a match between Joseph Parker and Martin Bakole for the interim WBO heavyweight championship. It is worth noting that the organizers originally planned to hold a fight between world champion Daniel Dubois and Parker, but the former fell ill a few days before the bout.
Additionally, in Riyadh, there will be a fight between Virgil Ortiz Jr. and Israil Madrimov, a match between Carlos Adames and Hamzah Shiraz for the WBC middleweight title, a bout between Joshua Buatsi and Callum Smith, an interim WBC heavyweight title fight between Zhilei Zhang and Agit Kabayel, as well as a match between Shakur Stevenson and Josh Padley for the WBC lightweight title.
Fighter Profiles
Artur Beterbiev (40 years old, Russia). Record: 21 wins, 0 losses, and 0 draws, with 20 knockouts.
Dmitry Bivol (34 years old, Kyrgyzstan). Record: 23 wins, 1 loss, and 0 draws. He has achieved 12 of his victories by knockout.
Both fighters have an orthodox stance.
Fight Statistics
Statistics indicate that Beterbiev has a significant power advantage over Bivol, with a knockout ratio of 95% compared to Bivol's 52%.
Artur Beterbiev is 6 years older than Bivol, being 40 years old. Beterbiev has a slight reach advantage of 2.5 cm.
Despite his age, Beterbiev is less experienced, having fought 3 fewer bouts and making his debut in 2013, 1 year and 5 months earlier than Bivol, whose first professional fight took place in 2014. He has fought 92 fewer rounds in total, with 110 rounds compared to Bivol's 202.
Performance of "non-Russian boxers"
Beterbiev remains undefeated in the professional ring, having stopped 4 of his last 5 opponents by knockout. For the first time in his career, the Russian was unable to knock out an opponent in the bout against Bivol, which went the full 12 rounds, with Beterbiev winning by majority decision.
Previously, he defeated Callum Smith on January 13, 2024, in a match for the IBF, WBC, and WBO world champion titles in the light heavyweight division. Before that, he overcame Anthony Yarde by technical knockout in the 8th round on January 28, 2023.
Bivol suffered a defeat to Beterbiev in his last professional fight, having knocked out one opponent in his last 5 bouts.
Before facing the Russian, who fights under the Canadian flag, the Kyrgyz boxer defeated Malik Zinad by technical knockout in the 6th round on June 1, 2024, in a fight for the WBA world title. Prior to that, he won against Lyndon Arthur by unanimous decision on December 23, 2023, in the same manner that Bivol lost to Gilberto "Zurdo" Ramirez on November 5, 2022.
Before that, Bivol sensationally defeated Canelo Alvarez by unanimous decision on May 7, 2022, and Umar Salamov on December 11, 2021.
Activity of the Boxers
In terms of recent activity, Dmitry Bivol has had more fights than Artur Beterbiev.
Both Beterbiev and Bivol last fought 4 months and 10 days ago.
Beterbiev's last 5 fights occurred over a span of 3 years, 2 months, and 5 days, meaning he fought approximately every 7 months and 20 days. In these bouts, he has gone a total of 38 rounds, averaging 7.6 rounds per fight.
Bivol's last 5 fights took place over 2 years, 9 months, and 15 days, which means he fought on average every 6 months and 23 days. In these fights, he has gone a total of 54 rounds, averaging 10.8 rounds per bout.
Legacy
Artur Beterbiev enters the fight as the undisputed world champion, having unified all four belts after defeating Dmitry Bivol in October.
The Russian became the first boxer in 21 years to collect all the belts in the light heavyweight division, previously held by Roy Jones from 1999 to 2003.
Despite his loss, Bivol became the first opponent of Beterbiev in history to go the full distance without being knocked out.
The representative of Kyrgyzstan also has the chance to claim the title of undisputed champion if he wins against the Russian boxer.
Comments
What time will the fight start?
The entrance of the Russian boxers to the ring is scheduled for 01:00 on Sunday, February 23, according to Kyiv time.
Where to watch the match?
There will be no official broadcast of the match in Ukraine. The only legal way to watch the fight is through DAZN service. The cost of the broadcast is $25.00 or 1,029 UAH.
Bookmakers' prediction for the fight
Bookmakers give a slight advantage to the 6 years younger Bivol and consider him the favorite of the confrontation:
Bivol's victory – 1.94;
Beterbiev's victory – 2.12.