Category: Boxing / UFC / MMA

• Bivol wins rematch by MD 12 (114-114, 116-112, 115-113)
• Parker blasts out Bakole by KO 2 in co-feature attraction
• Stevenson stops Padley to retain WBC lightweight title

The fighters have been announced by ring announcer Michael Buffer. The final instructions have been given by the British referee Kevin Parker, the seconds are out and we’ll pick it up with round-by-round coverage from here!

The fighters are making their ringwalks for the main event. First it’s Dmitry Bivol, who canters down the runway wearing a silver robe with black trim to группа крови by the Russian rock band Kino. Now it’s Artur Beterbiev’s turn. The unbeaten champion is in an equal hurry to reach the squared circle, wearing a black T-shirt and matching shorts as Вперед Ахмат by Dagestani singer Rizavdi Ismailov plays.

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• Bivol wins rematch by MD 12 (114-114, 116-112, 115-113)
• As it happened: Bryan Graham’s round-by-round report

Dmitry Bivol became the undisputed light heavyweight champion of the world after he outpointed Artur Beterbiev in another absorbing and magnificent contest of great technical skill and profound courage. Bivol, who narrowly lost a majority decision to the 40-year-old former champion just over four months ago, won the rematch and the sweetest redemption in the early hours of Sunday morning in Riyadh.

The scores were exactly the same as they had been in October – with one judge ruling it a 114-114 draw and the two other officials reaching verdicts of 116-112 and 115-113 – but the key difference was that the winning margins were announced in favour of the deserving Bivol.

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• New Zealander seals victory with emphatic knockdown
• Callum Smith wins all-British battle with Joshua Buatsi

Joseph Parker overcame the surprise of fighting a very different opponent from the man he had been expecting to face when he knocked out Martin Bakole with devastating force in the second round of their heavyweight contest in Riyadh. The New Zealander had been scheduled to challenge Daniel Dubois for his IBF world heavyweight title but, after the champion fell ill with a virus on Thursday, Bakole flew to Saudi Arabia from the Democratic Republic of Congo as an emergency replacement.

The odds against Bakole were underlined by the fact that he had only landed in Riyadh at 3am on the morning of the fight. Less than 22 hours later, at 1.10am local time on Sunday morning, Bakole ambled calmly to the ring. He hopped over the ropes, in his tartan trunks, with admirable alacrity. Parker followed, wearing a bright red tunic and a relaxed smile despite the sudden change of adversary.

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Big hitter from DR Congo has flown out to replace ill Briton against Joseph Parker for Saturday’s showdown in Saudi Arabia

Saudi Arabia’s attempts to seize control of boxing have been relentless but not even its massive wealth and swaggering certainty can overrule the harsh vagaries of life. Boxing is an extreme and unhinged version of real life and it is always subject to bedlam and disruption. And so, on Thursday afternoon, there was a familiarly knotty twist in the sleek Saudi plan to stage “the greatest fight card in the history of boxing” in Riyadh on Saturday night.

Daniel Dubois, fresh from his destruction of Anthony Joshua, was meant to defend his IBF world heavyweight title against Joseph Parker as the main undercard bout in a seven-fight extravaganza. It carried the promise of an intriguing and dangerous contest for both men – only for Dubois to fall ill with a virus.

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