WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol is scheduled to face WBC, WBO and IBF champion Artur Beterbiev on October 12 at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The two men, whose first fight was not scheduled, will put everything on the line, including their winning streaks, for the undisputed light heavyweight throne.
The start time of the event and the streaming partners will be announced later. The schedule is packed with other exciting duels, with the light heavyweight fight being the main attraction of the event. American sensation and world boxing champion Shakur Stevenson is also on the schedule. His fight for the WBC lightweight title will take place against Welsh-Maltese boxer Joe Cordina.
📋 ANNOUNCED: Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol, full pre-fight schedule on October 12 in Saudi Arabia:
🥊 Shakur Stevenson vs Joe Cordina
🥊 Chris Eubank Jr vs Kamil Szeremeta
🥊Fabio Wardley vs Frazer Clarke II
🥊 Jai Opetaia vs Jack Massey
🥊 Ben Whittaker vs Liam Cameron
🥊Skye Nicolson…— Michael Benson (@MichaelBensonn) 20 August 2024
This will be the co-main of the evening, while Chris Eubank returns to the ring to face Kamil Szeremeta in a middleweight bout that will excite the crowd. In total, the Beterbiev vs. Bivol card features eight fights, including the three mentioned above. The British heavyweight showdown – Fabio Wardley vs. Frazer Clarke – is the only heavyweight fight on the card, while Australian champion Jai Opetaia will face Jack Massey with his IBF The Ring title on the line.
In addition to the star-studded line-up, the matchmakers have added the flashy and flamboyant Ben Whittaker to the team, who will face Liam Cameron in a light heavyweight bout. Meanwhile, Raven Chapman will challenge WBC featherweight champion Skye Nicolson for the title, and Mohammed Alakel vs. Jesus Gonzalez is another fight to keep an eye on.
The light heavyweight champions also shared their thoughts on the October 12 fight. Bivol thanked the matchmakers for the outstanding fight, while Beterbiev limited himself to the bare minimum.
Beterbiev and Bivol comment on the eagerly awaited LHW duel
In about two months, we combat sports fans will witness one of the most anticipated fights in recent memory – Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol. Both undefeated and in top form, this fight is sure to be a cracker with both boxers putting it all on the line. Bivol is fresh off his TKO win over Malik Zinad and has an undefeated record of 23-0, including 12 KOs.
On the other hand, we have Beterbiev, who effortlessly dispatched Callum Smith and came into the match with a pristine record of 20-0, all by way of KO! While this LHW clash was originally slated to be the climax of a star-studded bill that pitted the returning Deontay Wilder against the in-form Zhilei Zhang, a training injury forced Beterbiev to the bench, forcing the match to be rescheduled for October 12.
The fighters have since shared their thoughts and Bivol expressed his gratitude to the matchmakers, according to bigfightweekend.com, saying:
“(It is) a great fight not only for Me, but for boxing fans. Saudi Arabia will make this fight and thank you for it. When I signed a contract as a professional boxer, had a goal to be the undisputed champion.”
While the stoic Russian Betebiev held back his words with a simple sentence:
““I’m glad to be here. It’s not the first time… I see another belt… I collect belts and I need another one.”
Ticket sales for the fight are yet to begin, and organizers have not yet announced details such as start time and streaming partners.
