10 hours Ago By James Evans
Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol are set to reignite their rivalry as they headline a star-studded card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Beterbiev made history by becoming the first man to defeat Bivol in October, clinching a majority decision to secure his status as the undisputed light-heavyweight world champion. In the early stages of the bout, Bivol's agility and combination punches seemed to take Beterbiev by surprise.
However, as the fight progressed, Beterbiev regained control with his unyielding pressure and powerful strikes. This time, Beterbiev is determined not to leave his fate in the hands of the judges and is eager to deliver a more commanding performance. Also on the bill, Joseph Parker will now face Martin Bakole after Daniel Dubois was forced to withdraw from the fight due to illness.
Here's all you need to know about the upcoming bouts...
. The event is scheduled to take place at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Saturday night. The first fight is due to get underway at around 4:45pm UK time (8.
45am PT / 10.45am CT / 11.45am ET).
Bakole's heavyweight showdown with Parker is scheduled to begin at 9:40pm UK time (1.40pm PT / 3.40pm CT / 4.
40pm ET), whilst the main event ring walks for Beterbiev vs Bivol are due at 11pm UK time (3pm PT / 5pm CT / 6pm ET). The main event should not start later than this but could be brought forward if the undercard fights are completed earlier than expected. The entire fight card will be shown live on TNT Sports Box Office and costs £19.
99 in the UK. The action can be watched on discovery+, EE TV, Prime Video and Virgin Media TV. Fans do not need to be a TNT Sports subscriber to buy this event.
Click here to purchase the fights. *The fights will also be shown on DAZN and Sky Sports Box Office. Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol - 11pm Joseph Parker vs Martin Bakole - 9.
40pm Shakur Stevenson vs Josh Padley - 8.35pm Carlos Adames vs Hamzah Sheeraz - 7.35pm Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Israil Madrimov - 6.
40pm Zhilei Zhang vs Agit Kabayel - 5.40pm Joshua Buatsi vs Callum Smith - 4.45pm Artur Beterbiev: "They can say anything.
I don't care about it," Beterbiev told Sky Sports . "My challenge is to do better than last time. We needed to learn.
We had some mistakes, we needed to correct them. Of course, we learn. We will see, it's coming in a short time, we will see.
You see something different, why I did this, why I did not do this. Automatically you want to change something." Dmitry Bivol: " I controlled the fight for most of it, even when I was moving back.
I felt in control," he told Mail Sport . "But I didn't act how I should have to impress the judges. I should have been more active, throwing more punches in the later rounds.
I don't think about the loss too much. I just focus on doing everything right this time. I know what I have to improve.
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