On the night of February 23, a revenge will take place in Riyadh between two Russian boxers-Arthur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. Bookmakers a little higher evaluate the chances of the absolute world champion, but it is worth recalling that a few months earlier a similar advantage was given to Bivola. Dmitry is able to successfully withstand a distance of 12 rounds, but few people believe in the early victory of the ex-champion of the world according to WBA-SUPER.

Nevertheless, Dmitry also knows how to “turn off the lights to the opponents.” Once he knocked out one of the applicants in the fourth round.

“Grandiose opportunities”

In May 2016, at a tournament in Moscow, Dmitry Bwil defeated Felix Valera and won the temporary title of the WBA world champion. In February 2017, in Nizhny Tagil, the Russian defended the title, knocking down the New Zealander Robert Berridge. Just two months later, the boxer had to go to the United States, where he was waiting for the second defense and local contender Samuel Clarkson.

The 26-year-old American approached a fight with a peer from Russia, having won nine victories in a row. In total, in the track record of Clarkson, the American had 19 won battles with three defeats. By that time, Bovol spent only nine fights and won everything. But the lack of great experience did not prevent our champion from looking at the future on the eve of the defense with optimism.

– The training camp was very good. I arrived to prepare in South California, because there are a lot of sparring partners. Now I’m ready for battle. I think Clarkson will go forward, will act aggressively and will try to pressure more. We will see what will happen in the ring. A possible victory over such a strong opponent will open my way for grandiose opportunities, ”Bivola quoted Boxingscene.com.

Clarkson said that he not only trained, but also prayed and meditated. I admit that in a battle against Bivol, anything could happen. At the same time, he promised to be prepared for the “war” and expressed his readiness to die in the ring.

Successful protection

In those, not so distant times, no one hid Russian symbols at international sports events. Bwil went to the battle under the Russian flag, the tricolor was present on the form of our athlete. But the American by national symbols before his public did not boast of.

About half a minute Dmitry allowed the opponent to work on an equal footing. Then, quickly taking the initiative, the bevel pierced the American into the liver, forcing him to knee. It was a knockdown, after which Clarkson still managed to recover. It was not possible to show the intelligible box to the local athlete before the break: he simply survived in the ring and again visited the knockdown.

Dmitry Bivol / Photo: © Ethan Miller / Staff / Getty Images Sport / Gettyimages.ru

The second and third rounds passed for Clarkson tolerably: he, at least, stopped falling. But the statistics were just terrifying. By the fourth round, the American was noted by four exact blows, only two of which were defined as power. For comparison, Bivol had these indicators – 31 and 22, respectively.

What could be statistics based on the results of 12 rounds, you can only guess. Dmitry knocked out the opponent in the fourth round: Clarkson was not ready for an insidious strike in the head. The American was on the floor and could no longer stand on his feet, although he tried. After the victory, Bivola was taken to the ring of a tricolor: the first defense of the title abroad was successful.