'Last Crescendo' defined by its brave, brilliant savages

Around a dozen belts were up for grabs in Riyadh but, writes Steve Bunce, it was all about purity and passion in the ring

- Steve Bunce

There was brilliance, bravery, lunacy, savagery and endless hours of boxing in Riyadh on Saturday night when seven fights with seven stories took place until nearly 4am.

Dmitry Bivol avenged his only loss to beat Artur Beterbiev and becoming the undisputed champion at light-heavyweight, in a simply amazing fight of skill and risk. Their first fight last October was exceptional, their rematch was far better.

Bivol had to take chances, and he did in every round, putting himself in danger to pull off the win; Beterbiev had stopped or knocked out 20 of his 21 victims, but he has now gone 24 rounds with Bivol without coming close to dropping his great rival. The pair are untouchable, a perfect double act of speed, accuracy, style and power.

The scores were 115-113 and 116-112 for Bivol and a third of 114114; the right man won and now they will look at a third fight, a fitting trilogy. However, it is unlikely to be for all four belts – mandatories, stupidity and boxing politics will ruin the undisputed path.

Just four days ago, Martin Bakole was preparing in the Democratic Republic of Congo for a fight in New York on 2 May, and then his life was turned upside down. Bakole was drafted in to fight Joseph Parker in the joint main event, jumped on two planes, arrived less than 24 hours before the first bell, lost in the second round, jumped back on a plane, and is still fighting in New York on 2 May – it is one of boxing’s most absurd tales.