Beterbiev WM12 Bivol: A Great Fight, Yet Another Controversial Decision

As the boxing world turns. It is yet another controversial or, to be more telling, bad decision. Right now, after seeing two quite superb light-heavyweights – Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol – go at it for all the marbles, for all four world titles, the big talking point, unfortunately, is on the work of the three judges who had the privilege of sitting at ringside to score the hugely important unification fight in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

After 12 excellent rounds of boxing, most of us felt Bivol had, as the saying goes, boxed out of his skin, this against a lethal puncher with a 100 percent KO record. Bivol was brilliant, while Beterbiev was also superb, but it seemed the younger man had won the biggest fight of his career. Instead, one judge had things all level at 114-114, while the other two officials had Beterbiev walking away with a win after 12 immensely engrossing rounds of boxing, this at 115-113 and 116-112.

Beterbiev is now 21-0(20), while Bivol is now 23-1(12).

And the arguments and the debates are being heard around the world. The ugly “R” word has, once again, reared its, well, its ugly head. When we fight, fans should be celebrating a special night and fight, and when the sport of boxing as a whole should be doing likewise, we and the sport are instead nursing the wounds inflicted by another – call it what you wish – a bad, a debatable, or a just plain wrong – decision.

Really, last night’s excellent fight was a close one, and that 116-112 scorecard is being justifiably lambasted. A draw might have been more palatable, but most fans, experts, and fellow fighters feel Bivol was denied his rightful win. After such a dedicated performance, after such an admirable performance, one that saw Bivol show nerve, skill, heart, and desire, it really is quite something that not one of the three official scorers of the fight felt he had done enough to win.

A rematch is absolutely going to happen; it just has to happen. Why are we at this point? Why, once again, and after so many previous head-scratching decisions, does our beloved sport find itself defending itself? Beterbiev was told by his own corner that he needed the KO, this late in the fight, and everybody heard the cries from his corner. Some will argue that this was merely a tactic to get more work out of a fighter who, though the fight was close, was still edging things.

Plenty of us will choose to believe the corner believed their man really was losing the fight and that Beterbiev really did need the KO he had previously always delivered. But the KO never came, and yet Beterbiev still won the fight. Bivol, a true sportsman, refused to scream and holler, with him instead saying the judges judged how the judges judged. Credit to him. Many of us would have been livid after hearing those official scores read out. Now, it’s up to Bivol’s fans, his team members, and his promoter to do the screaming for him, and Eddie Hearn has already generated a ton of headlines for saying, some will say quite rightly, how last night’s decision was disgusting.

If a poll is done, it’s likely most contributors will have Bivol as last night’s winner, but ultimately this will not change anything. The official decision will stand, and more money will be made in the return fight or from the return fight. Nobody is alleging any corruption here, but many are suggesting incompetence was at work last night in Saudi Arabia.

We’ve heard it all before, how the scoring of a fight is “subjective,” and Beterbiev will have his supporters, people who feel he did win the fight. But to millions of people, the still-fresh memory of how the three judges were able to take away victory from a man who boxed with such composure, with such verve, with such elegance brings up all kinds of wrong. Dmitry Bivol won last night’s fight, either by two rounds, by three rounds (as this writer had it) or by four rounds.

Yet as the record books will forever show, no official card shares this view. And once again our great sport is under the microscope as a result.