Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol: Live Winners and Losers, Results

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Boxing isn't what it used to be, but it's having itself a big Saturday.

Shared light heavyweight champions Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, who've reigned alongside one another for several years at 175 pounds, will finally get together atop a Saudi-arranged card at the sport's newest hotspot -- Kingdom Arena in Riyadh.

Beterbiev comes in as a gloved menace with a 20-0 record and 20 KOs, while Bivol is the stylist of the pair, having won 23 straight fights, including a clear-cut decision over a rising Canelo Alvarez two years ago in Las Vegas.

Those two will walk to the ring sometime around 6 p.m. ET following an undercard that included several fighters familiar to the British boxing crowd, including Chris Eubank Jr., Jai Opetaia and Skye Nicolson.

The B/R combat team is in position to take it all in and deliver a definitive, real-time account of the show's winners and losers. Take a look at what we come up with and drop a thought of your own in the comments.

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It's the heavyweight equalizer. One-shot power.

British champion Fabio Wardley probably entered the ring on the lower end when it came to a skills matchup with second-time opponent and fellow unbeaten Frazer Clarke.

Clarke, after all, was an Olympic medalist with a long and distinguished amateur pedigree and he'd managed a draw with Wardley in their initial match seven months ago even after he'd been knocked down in the fifth round and deducted a point for low blows two rounds later.

But Wardley had determination, aggression…and that power.

The 29-year-old landed his decisive blow barely two minutes into the second get-together with Clarke, sending him reeling into the ropes and instantly scrambling his equilibrium.

Clarke steadied and initially replied with a couple shots of his own, but a follow-up left-right set up the kill shot – another wide right hand that dropped Clarke to his knees with no chance to get up. The 33-year-old stared vacantly and slumped face-first into the top rope, prompting a wave-off from referee Victor Loughlin. He was helped to his stool and was immediately hooked to an oxygen tank as medical personnel tended to him.

He still looked dizzy and unstable for several minutes as the official announcement – TKO at 2:28 of Round 1 – was made, and promoter Frank Warren said he may have suffered a fractured cheekbone.

It was Wardley's 17th knockout in 18 pro wins and Clarke's first loss in 10 pro fights.

"Sometimes war is needed. Sometimes a little brains are needed. I had success in that war mode," Wardley said. "War's my name, war's my nature. Unless that bell comes, that's the only thing that's gonna save you."

Wardley arrived as a top-10 contender in the eyes of the WBA (9), WBC (8) and WBO (8) and No. 12 by the IBF, and analyst Darren Barker suggests he can be a world-level threat.

"That's a huge statement and that is gonna turn a lot of heads, a massive, massive victory," Barker said. "This guy's got the X factor. He can go. He has natural talent and carries ridiculous power in that right hand of his."

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There are domestic champions. There are world champions.

And the gap between those levels was particularly evident in the cruiserweight title fight matching world claimant Jai Opetaia and his 10th-ranked challenger in the eyes of the IBF – Commonwealth and European Union title claimant Jack Massey.

For as brave and hard-working as Massey was in his first appearance on the global stage, he was consistently outskilled and outgunned by the talented Opetaia, who fought aggressively from a southpaw stance and continually strafed his foe with hard jabs and straight lefts.

Massey was in no danger of being stopped early and did land an occasional single shot when the champion was too slow to disengage after a volley of his own, but there was never any consistent resistance and Opetaia cruised to a 26th straight pro win since he represented Australia at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London.

Eventually, the one-way traffic built up and Massey's corner officially surrendered by tossing in the towel at 2:00 of the sixth.

He's now 4-0 in world title fights, having beaten respected veteran Mairis Briedis twice by decision and stopped previously unbeaten British challenger Jordan Thompson by fourth-round KO before Saturday's virtuoso effort.

"This was a performance to have to threaten the others in your division," analyst Darren Barker said. "This says, 'This is the standard you've got to be at to beat me.'"

Next up could be a cruiserweight date with the winner of a November match between WBO champ Chris Billam-Smith and WBA title-holder Gilberto Ramirez, or, if he's feeling frisky, Opetaia has suggested he's ready to stand opposite the winner of the Beterbiev-Bivol fight.

"That's what I hope comes," Opetaia said. "Whoever (Saudi promoter Turki Al-Sheikh) tells me to fight, that's who I fight."

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Make no mistake, Chris Eubank Jr. controlled nearly every minute of every round he fought on Saturday's undercard against ex-middleweight title challenger Kamil Szeremeta.

So if simply winning the fight was his mission, consider it a mission accomplished.

But the longer the scheduled 12-rounder – with an almost universally ignored IBO bauble at 160 pounds at stake – went, the worse it got for the Englishman's other stated aim, which is to convince pay-per-view superstar and undisputed cash cow Canelo Alvarez to fight him.

Eubank dropped Szeremeta, a 35-year-old coming off a split draw with an anonymous Abel Mina, with a hard one-two combination in the first round, but was unable to finish matters early and spent the subsequent few rounds in a glorified workout before dropping him again in the sixth and delivering two more knockdowns in the seventh and prompting a wave off.

Which likely means, unless Alvarez is simply interested in plucking a recognizable name for a would-be first business trip to England, the winner did almost nothing to strengthen his case.

Instead, he seems more likely destined for a domestic showdown with fellow second-generation star Conor Benn, who was at ringside Saturday. Eubank's father, Chris Sr., fought Benn's father, Nigel, twice, winning by TKO in 1990 before a split-decision draw in 1993. Conor Benn entered the ring after Szeremeta was dispatched and quickly engaged Eubank with a shove before the two went nose to nose and had to be separated.

"It's arguably the biggest fight that can be made in British boxing," analyst Liam Smith said, "because of the history with their fathers and the rivalry there."

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Maybe, just maybe, Skye Nicolson will fulfill the destiny she's claimed for herself.

The Australian southpaw is camera friendly and athletically skilled, both of which were on display during her one-sided unanimous decision over Raven Chapman that allowed her to keep hold of the WBC featherweight title belt with which she entered.

But for all her apparent qualities, she's not exactly a fan-friendly proposition.

The trip to the scorecards was Nicolson's 11th (three six-rounders, two eight-rounders, six 10-rounders) in 12 pro fights, and, though she pines for a match with multi-division women's champ Amanda Serrano and may ultimately get it thanks to promotional connections, her inability -- or unwillingness -- to remain stationary and engage doesn't bode well for her against someone with the decorated Puerto Rican's tenacity and skill set.

Nicolson won a vacant WBC title against Sarah Mahfoud in Las Vegas in April and defended against Dyana Vargas in Philadelphia in July. She represented Australia in the 2020 Summer Olympics and turned pro with a defeat of Jessica Juarez in San Diego in March 2022.

Official Scores: 99-91, 98-92 x 2, Nicolson

B/R Score: 97-93, Nicolson

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If you like your boxing with a side of WWE, the undercard scrap between Ben Whittaker and Liam Cameron was the one for you.

Five intermittently violent rounds suddenly ended with both men going over the top rope, a tumble that resulted in an apparent injury to the undefeated Whittaker, who was unable to continue with what he said was a leg issue and actually left the ring area in a wheelchair.

The sudden ending was ruled accidental and the scorecards through five rounds determined the result, which was ultimately deemed a split-decision draw after each fighter had the support of one judge while a third scorecard was dead even.

The fighters tied up along the ropes near the corner and Cameron seemed to be walking Whittaker backward when Whittaker's back touched the ropes. He fell backward over the top strand and brought Cameron with him in a would-be cartwheel as nearby security personnel kept the pair from going all the way to the arena floor.

It was the first blemish for Whittaker, who is now 8-0-1, while Cameron is 23-6-1.

"I don't get a fair shake," said Cameron, who suggested Whittaker was looking for an escape. "I got a split-decision loss in my last fight and I got a draw here. I don't know what else I can do."

Official Scores: 58-57, Whittaker; 58-57, Cameron; 58-58, Even

B/R Score: 58-57, Whittaker

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It was supposed to be a strong debut for junior lightweight prospect Mohammed Alakel and the kid delivered, handily winning every round to open the main card with a unanimous decision over trial horse Jesus Gonzalez.

Just 20 years old, Alakel used his advantages in height and reach to keep the aggressive Gonzalez at distance and unable to create the brawl he sought. When he did work his way into punching range, he was often strafed with counters or had his shots picked off.

It was Gonzalez's third loss in a six-fight career that began 11 months ago.

Official Scores: 40-36 x 3, Alakel

B/R Score: 40-36, Alakel

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Main Event

Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol

Preliminary Card

Fabio Wardley def. Frazer Clarke by TKO, 2:28, Round 1

Jai Opetaia def. Jack Massey by TKO, 2:00, Round 6

Chris Eubank Jr. def. Kamil Szeremeta by TKO, 1:50, Round 7

Skye Nicolson def. Raven Chapman by unanimous decision (99-91, 98-92, 98-92)

Ben Whittaker drew with Liam Cameron (58-57, 57-58, 58-58)

Mohammed Alakel def. Jesus Gonzalez by unanimous decision (40-36, 40-36, 40-36)