“I see my way to my goal” - Dmitry Bivol impresses in shutout victory over Lyndon Arthur in Riyadh, targets Beterbiev vs. Smith winner next
After another successful title defense, Dmitry Bivol aims for another high-profile bout in his next outing.
Since upsetting Canelo Alvarez in 2022, Bivol has earned the respect of the media and fans while continuing to stack impressive performances. Adding to his resume, Bivol retained the WBA light heavyweight title while also claiming the IBO light heavyweight belt with a dominant decision win over Lyndon Arthur at the Day of Reckoning event.
Dmitry Bivol called his win a 'good sparring' session before calling for the winner of the WBC, WBO, and IBF light heavyweight title fight between Artur Beterbiev vs. Callum Smith.
In his post-fight interview, Bivol said:
"I would say that it was good sparring for me. Lyndon, he was in good shape. I'm glad [at] the end of the year I got this fight and now I see my way to my goal. [I want to be] undisputed against the winner of Beterbiev and Smith. I hope this fight will happen in 2024."
After a delay in the matchup, Beterbiev and Smith are currently scheduled to face each other on January 13, 2024.
Day of Reckoning: Dmitry Bivol vs. Lyndon Arthur result
Fighting for the first time in over a year, WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol effortlessly defended his belt while collecting a second one on December 23 against Lyndon Arthur.
Picking up his 22nd career win without a single loss, Bivol earned a near-perfect unanimous decision win on the undercard of the Day of Reckoning event. All three judges scored the bout 120-107 to give the Russian his record-setting 11th consecutive title defense.
Fans and viewers worldwide were in awe of the champion's performance while excited at the idea of a super fight on the horizon with either Beterbiev or Smith. Since his upset win over Canelo Alvarez in May 2022 put his name on the map, Bivol has claimed a near-unanimous top-five pound-for-pound ranking amongst boxing pundits.
At 33 years old, Bivol is quickly becoming recognized as one of the greatest light heavyweight boxers in the sport's long history.