Bivol was class in defeat, as expected, and praised Beterbiev; they had shared a unique respect for each other during the months and months it took to finally get the pair in the ring. They had also shared six years and nine months as world champions before the final bell separated Bivol from his belt.

Bivol lost a majority decision to Beterbiev in Saudi Arabia, dropping the WBA light-heavyweight belt to the unified champion and suffering a first professional loss. The scorecards read 114-114, 115-113, 116-112 in favour of the unbeaten Beterbiev, with the latter scorecard proving particularly controversial.

Dmitry Bivol’s team expressed frustration with the judges' scorecards after he lost a majority decision to Artur Beterbiev on Saturday night at Kingdom Arena in Saudi Arabia, a result that crowned Beterbiev as the undisputed light heavyweight champion.