Fight Preview
Dmitry Bivol will attempt to defend his WBA light heavyweight title this weekend when he faces Manchester-born Lyndon Arthur at Riyadh’s Day of Reckoning card, also featuring former heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua against Otto Wallin and Deontay Wilder vs Joseph Parker.
Arthur should feel confident entering his first world title fight as an underdog. As one of Britain’s premier 175-pound talents with an outstanding 23-1 record that includes 16 wins by knockout. Arthur lost only once during that span to fellow Brit Anthony Yarde, via fourth round knockout defeat, though has made four consecutive stops since.
When Bivol, 33, plays Arthur, his 13-month sabbatical will come to an end. The native of Kyrgyzstan hasn’t competed since November 2022, when he easily defeated Mexican southpaw Gilberto Ramirez during their 12-round match at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi via unanimous decision.
Arthur showed confidence at the press conference ahead of this fight by standing tall with poise and bearing down with an intense stare from Bivol himself, who, however, is known for having his own unyielding mentality on display against Arthur.
Bivol’s cold stare served as the ideal prelude for an equally frigid fight against Arthur, and will require his best performance to get past Arthur and make a case against Artur Beterbiev (IBF, WBC and WBO Champion in 2024). Unfortunately for Bivol though, the WBC’s refusal to rank Russian/Belarusian fighters after Russia invaded Ukraine is an obstacle; therefore he needs his first win of 2024 before setting his sights higher.
With just under 6 weeks’ notice, the 32-year-old Arthur took this championship opportunity against one of the top boxers throughout the sport, pound for pound, after talks between Bivol’s managers and Richard Rivera’s reps broke down. Considering the effect he had throughout 2022, Bivol’s quiet year is disheartening, but Saturday is a chance to garner some attention before he might face Beterbiev in the latter half of next year.
Sign-up at BetUS TODAY and get 125% BONUS. Use the Promo Code BETUSTV125. Terms and Conditions apply.
Let’s check the latest picks, Boxing news, stats and Boxing expert picks for Dmitry Bivol vs Lyndon Arthur. We’ve plenty of Boxing Show predictions for you to consider.
Dmitry Bivol vs Lyndon Arthur Fight Information
- Date: 12/23/2023
- Time: 04:00 PM ET
- Location: Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
- How to Watch Dmitry Bivol vs Lyndon Arthur: DAZN
- Live Stream: sho.com
