Artur Beterbiev BEATS Dmitry Bivol in controversial majority decision to remain undefeated and become undisputed champion

DMITRY BIVOL fell short of undisputed lightweight glory after losing to Artur Beterbiev, but it was not without controversy.

The 33-year-old Russian WBA champion dared to face the countryman and silent killer who held the WBC, IBF and WBO crowns.

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And he kept the beard menace in check until the judges should have cemented his place in the pantheons of boxing’s greatest.

But one called it a 114-114 draw and the other two went further, giving Beterbiev 116-112 and 115-113.

After the fight, Bivol’s promoter Eddie Hearn could not believe what he had witnessed, describing the judges’ scorecards as an “absolute joke”.

He went on to say that his man had been “robbed of the undisputed championship tonight”.

The two magnificent fans pushed and scored the opening two minutes and 50 seconds.

Then, just as the wooden toll signaled the final 10, they then lunged at each other and both hit hard and accurately.

Beterbiev looped a right hook, but the 33-year-old came back with a one-two counter.

Bivol’s snake jab helped him take control of the second round as Beterbiev continued to shrink the ring and push the pace, but without landing any punches.

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Bivol’s matador impression was masterful, his one-twos were sharp and his footwork made the bearded bull look basic at times.

The first two minutes were always tactical and tactical, but the final minute always seemed to be a shootout and the third was no different.

In the fourth round, it looked like Bivol was recreating his Canelo clinic from 2022, bringing the pressure from the smaller, spiteful man. But punishing him in the back with precision and speed.

Beterbiev’s constant pressure and hard punches cost him the fifth round when Bivol was clipped and had to dance out of the ring to avoid disaster.

The sixth round was when he felt that Bivol was starting to drown in the desert. Wave after wave of Beterbiev’s attack seemed to be suffocating him and filling his lungs with water when he was desperate for air.

But even though he gave up the center of the ring for the first six rounds, he was still pinging against the ropes and scoring.

Bivol dared to go big in the seventh, but courage in the squared circle creates openings for your opponent and Beterbiev didn’t need to ask twice.

The WBA coach threw flashy, scoring shots, but Beterbiev saw them as an invitation to attack and appeared to rattle his former amateur substitute from the Russian team.

Both men made the technical decision to do very little work for the first two minutes, sometimes only really going for 30 seconds.

The same thing happened in the eighth round when they waited until the last shots to unleash their energy and the most spiteful shots.

But it seemed like it was Bivol who was racking up rounds with regular bursts that were more successful than occasional jabs.

The ninth round could have been Bivol’s best. He looked so at home and comfortable in the most awkward position imaginable.

He was the only catch from a violent Chechen KO artist chasing him around the ring.

But he had the skill and the psychological strength to make it look, at times, like a sparring session.

Bivol checked his chin at the start of the tenth, with a loud right hand. And his heart and his lungs at the end of the stanza. But every inch of her anatomy was getting full marks.

Bivol was boxing very well in the penultimate round until a right hand around the ear knocked him off his pace, but he wasn’t off his course to four-belt glory.

Beterbiev chased and hit him, but he absorbed and ran and even had the audacity to fight back.

Round 12 was the Soviet party we needed to end the week and the rivalry.

Both men when hammer and nail and when Bivol was still standing at the end, he knew he had done enough and began his well-deserved celebrations, to tame the Beast from the East, with supreme style and courage.

But the judges saw it differently, much to the shock and dismay of Team Bivol who couldn’t believe their man had suffered his first defeat as a professional.