Artur Beterbiev – Syndication Server

Artur Beterbiev defeats Dmitry Bivol in controversial majority decision

Artur Beterbiev became the undisputed light heavyweight champion by beating Dmitry Bivol in a razor-thin majority decision.

(This article first appeared on USA TODAY Sports.)

[autotag]Artur Beterbiev[/autotag] defeated Dmitry Bivol by majority decision Saturday in Saudi Arabia, winning the unified light heavyweight championship.

Beterview, 39, showed superior power and left Bivol’s face badly swollen under his left eye. Bivol, 33, showed snap in his punches too, but he could not evade enough blows.

“He’s powerful, very powerful,’’ Bivol said.

Beterbiev outlanded Bivol in power punches 90-86, according to DAZN. But Beterbiev said, “Today I’m lucky, too.’’

The judges scored it 114-114, 115-113 and 116-112.

Beterbiev handed Bivol his first loss while improving to 21-0 but failed to score a knockout for the first time of his career. Bivol fell to 23-1.

Beterbiev entered with the IBF, WBC and WBO world light heavyweight championship titles. Bivol entered as the WBA world light heavyweight championship.

Round-by-round analysis

Round 1: Bivol out fast ripping jabs. Beterbiev tossing out his jab with less authority. Boxers feeling things out, while Bivol still firing the jab. Bivol spices it up with a left hook. Bivol follows up a left with a right. Beterbiev picks up the pace, and Bivol finishes fast. Bivol 10, Beterbiev 9.

Round 2: Now Beterbiev’s out quick behind his jab. Bivol responds with his own jab, and looks like he’ll be firing that all day. It’s Beterbiev stalking. But he’s yet to be able to capitalize. Bivol’s footwork is serving him well. Bivol 20, Beterbiev 18.

Round 3: Beterbiev out quick again and moving forward. Bivol still responding with the jab. Nice exchange, and Bivol on the attack. Bivol on the move, but Beterbiev catches up with a right. Back comes Bivol with his own right. Getting a little rough, and Beterbiev showing more power. Bivol 29, Beterbiev 28.

Round 4: Beterbiev looks increasingly comfortable as he stalks Bivol. But Bivol counters. Bivol neutralizes a surge by Beterviev with counterpunches. Bviol deflecting punches with a high guard. It’s Beterbiev’s right vs. Bivol’s jab and occasional combos. Bivol 39, Beterbiev 37.

Round 5: Beterbiev stalking again, but Bivol stands his ground. They meet in the center of the ring. Bivol lands a hard right that seems to enliven Beterbiev, who fires jabs and stalks again. But Beterbiev hasn’t found the window for his powerful right. Bivol eats a left, take a hard body shot. Bivol counters with a hard left. Bivol 48, Beterbiev 47.

Round 6: Fighters meet at the center of the ring, but not for long as Beterbiev reasserts himself. Moves back Bivol with a right. Bivol stays on the move, then connects with a combination and digs into the body. Beterbiev responds. Bivol going toe to toe with Beterbiev before he wisely backs away. Beterbiev 57, Bivol 57.

Round 7: Bivol opens the round with an overhand right. But nothing seems to have truly hurt Beterbiev. Bivol back on the move. Bivol lands a right and a left and goes on the attack. Beterbiev fiercely coming back and has Bivol on the ropes. Beterbiev pounds away at the end of the round. Beterbiev 67, Bivol 66.

Round 8: Fighters at the center of the ring again, and now Bivol stalks – and eats a jab. Chants up go up for Bivol. It’s going to take more than chants as Beterbiev looks to be heating up. Bivol misses with a big right. Bivol shows good defense too. Beterviev sneaks through a couple of punches. Bivol finishes strong. Beterbiev 76, Bivol 76.

Round 9: Bivol stalks. Beterbiev looks content throwing the jab, and now back on the march. Bivol lands a hard left and a couple of body punches and he’s on the move again. Then stops and throws a combination. Digs in with the left. Bivol’s footwork is superior, and he responds with counterpunching. Bivol 86, Beterbiev 85.

Round 10: Beterbiev leads with the right and Bivol backs away. Beterbiev blocking a substantial number of Bivol’s punches. But he’s firing with more frequency than Bivol. Chants go up again for Bivol. A hard left and right from Bivol. Beterbiev unloads a flurry and finishes the round strong. Bivol 95, Beterbiev 95.

Round 11: Beterbiev marching forward before fighters settle at the center of the ring. Bivol drills Beterbiev with a right, and Beterbiev moves forward. Beterbiev picking up steam. Has Bivol on the ropes, throwing with both hands. Bivol fires back and Beterbiev bulls forward and presses Bivol up against the ropes. Bivol covering up under the assault. Beterbiev 105, Bivol 104.

Round 12: Bivol’s left eye almost swollen shut. Beterbiev looks strong and focused. Bivol looks shady and tentative. But Bivol stands his ground and throws a flurry of punches. Beterbiev methodically marches back at Bivol. Beterbiev chasing after Bivol with the right hand. He’s ramping up and then Bivol responds. Beterbiev now in control, although Bivol doing his best to unload as the round ends. Beterbiev 115, Bivol 113.

Beterbiev vs. Bivol official scorecard

Artur Beterbiev def. Dmitrii Bivol via majority decision (114-114, 115-113, 116-112)

Judge Manuel Oliver Palomo: 114-114 draw
Judge Glenn Feldman: 115-113 Beterbiev
Judge Pawel Kardyni 116-112 Beterbiev

https://twitter.com/MatchroomBoxing/status/1845237305784569947

Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol II?

The Russian-born boxers both expressed interest in a rematch.

“If his Excellency wants to, we going to do,’’ Beterbiev said, referring to Turki Alalshikh, who is the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and has become a key matchmaker of boxing.

Said Bivol, “Why not, of course. If I have a chance to, yes, this is my dream to be undisputed (champion).”

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Video: Artur Beterbiev, Dmitry Bivol stone cold in pre-fight conference faceoff ahead of boxing title fight

Watch Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol face off at Thursday’s pre-fight press conference.

This might be as cold as it gets.

[autotag]Artur Beterbiev[/autotag] and [autotag]Dmitry Bivol[/autotag] had a tense staredown at Thursday’s pre-fight press conference in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, ahead of their undisputed light-heavyweight title fight. This is the first time since 2002 that all four major championship titles have been up for grabs in the four-belt era.

Both Beterbiev and Bivol didn’t break eye contact until they were instructed to face forward for the photo op. Below you can check out their intense staredown (via X):

https://twitter.com/trboxing/status/1844460109877084663

For the first time in the modern era, all four light heavyweight belts will be on the line – WBO, WBA, IBF and WBC. Beterbiev holds the WBO, WBC and IBF titles, while Bivol brings the WBA belt into the contest. Both fighters are undefeated.

Bivol, 33, has three wins since his big 2022 title defense against boxing superstar Canelo Alvarez. His most recent victory came in June when he stopped Malik Zinad to retain his WBA title. Meanwhile, Beterbiev, 39, last fought in January, stopping Callum Smith.

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Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang: Date, time, how to watch, background

Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang: Date, time, how to watch, background.

Former heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder returns to the ring against Zhilei Zhang in the main event of the Queensberry and Matchroom 5 vs. 5 pay-per-view card Saturday in Saudi Arabia.

DEONTAY WILDER (43-3-1, 42 KOs)
VS. ZHILEI ZHANG (26-2-1, 21 KOs)

Date: Saturday, June 1
Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (main event later in show)
Where: Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
TV/Stream: DAZN Pay-Per-View
Division: Heavyweight (no limit)
At stake: No major titles
Boxing Junkie Pound-for-pound: None
Odds: Zhang 1½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
Significance (up to five stars): *****
Also on the card: Filip Hrgovic vs. Daniel Dubois, heavyweights; Dmitry Bivol vs. Malik Zinad, light heavyweights (for Bivol’s WBA title); Raymond Ford vs. Nick Ball, featherweights (for Ford’s WBA title); Austin Williams vs. Hamzah Sheeraz, middleweights; Craig Richards vs. Willy Hutchinson, light heavyweights
Background: Dmitry Bivol was scheduled to fight fellow 175-pound titleholder Artur Beterbiev in the main event of the Queensberry and Matchroom 5 vs. 5 card but the matchup was postponed after Beterbiev was injured in training. The show goes on, with Deontay Wilder facing Zhilei Zhang in the main event and Bivol defending his belt against Malik Zinad in a stay-busy fight. Wilder is at a crossroads. The hard-punching former heavyweight titleholder is 1-3 in his last four fights, with knockout losses against Tyson Fury in 2020 and 2021 and a one-sided decision setback against Joseph Parker on the Anthony Joshua-Otto Wallin card in December. The 38-year-old Alabamian’s only victory in the last four-plus years was a first-round stoppage of Robert Helenius in October 2022. A victory over Zhang could lead to one more title shot. Another loss could end his career as an elite fighter, particularly if he’s not competitive. Zhang, a 41-year-old from China, had built considerable momentum with back-to-back knockouts of Joe Joyce last year. However, he took a step backward with a majority decision loss to Parker even though he put the winner down twice in March. A victory would keep Zhang in the hunt for a title fight. Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs), ranked No. 4 pound-for-pound, shouldn’t have too much trouble with Zinad (22-0, 16 KOs). The Malta-based Libyan has a perfect record but is taking an enormous step up in opposition. He’s ranked No. 2 by the IBF. Also on the card, Filip Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KOs) and Daniel Dubois (20-2, 19 KOs) will be fighting to maintain their positions as top contenders. Hrgovic, a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, is coming off a first-round KO of Mark De Mori on the Joshua-Wallin card. Dubois bounced back from his knockout loss to Oleksandr Usyk by stopping Jarrell Miller in the 10th and final round, also on the Joshua-Wallin show. And 126-pound titleholder Raymond Ford (15-0-1, 8 KOs) will defend his belt against Nick Ball (19-0-1, 8 KOs). Ford, a 25-year-old from New Jersey, is coming off a sensational stoppage of Otabek Kholmatov with only seven seconds remaining in a fight he was losing on the cards to win the vacant WBA title. Ball (19-0-1, 11 KOs) is coming off a strong performance, a split draw against WBC beltholder Rey Vargas in March. The 27-year-old from the U.K. outpointed Isaac Dogboe before that.

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Fight Week: Deontay Wilder to face Zhilei Zhang in 5 vs. 5 main event in Saudi Arabia

Fight Week: Former heavyweight champ Deontay Wilder is scheduled to face Zhilei Zhang in the 5 vs. 5 main event Saturday in Saudi Arabia.

FIGHT WEEK

Deontay Wilder is scheduled to face Zhilei Zhang in the main event of the Queensberry and Matchroom 5 vs. 5 pay-per-view card Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

DEONTAY WILDER (43-3-1, 42 KOs)
VS. ZHILEI ZHANG (26-2-1, 21 KOs)

Date: Saturday, June 1
Time: 2 p.m. ET / 11 a.m. PT (main event later in show)
Where: Kingdom Arena, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
TV/Stream: DAZN Pay-Per-View
Division: Heavyweight (no limit)
At stake: No major titles
Boxing Junkie Pound-for-pound: None
Odds: Zhang 1½-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
Significance (up to five stars): *****
Also on the card: Filip Hrgovic vs. Daniel Dubois, heavyweights; Dmitry Bivol vs. Malik Zinad, light heavyweights (for Bivol’s WBA title); Raymond Ford vs. Nick Ball, featherweights (for Ford’s WBA title); Austin Williams vs. Hamzah Sheeraz, middleweights; Craig Richards vs. Willy Hutchinson, light heavyweights
Background: Dmitry Bivol was scheduled to fight fellow 175-pound titleholder Artur Beterbiev in the main event of the Queensberry and Matchroom 5 vs. 5 card but the matchup was postponed after Beterbiev was injured in training. The show goes on, with Deontay Wilder facing Zhilei Zhang in the main event and Bivol defending his belt against Malik Zinad in a stay-busy fight. Wilder is at a crossroads. The hard-punching former heavyweight titleholder is 1-3 in his last four fights, with knockout losses against Tyson Fury in 2020 and 2021 and a one-sided decision setback against Joseph Parker on the Anthony Joshua-Otto Wallin card in December. The 38-year-old Alabamian’s only victory in the last four-plus years was a first-round stoppage of Robert Helenius in October 2022. A victory over Zhang could lead to one more title shot. Another loss could end his career as an elite fighter, particularly if he’s not competitive. Zhang, a 41-year-old from China, had built considerable momentum with back-to-back knockouts of Joe Joyce last year. However, he took a step backward with a majority decision loss to Parker even though he put the winner down twice in March. A victory would keep Zhang in the hunt for a title fight. Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs), ranked No. 4 pound-for-pound, shouldn’t have too much trouble with Zinad (22-0, 16 KOs). The Malta-based Libyan has a perfect record but is taking an enormous step up in opposition. He’s ranked No. 2 by the IBF. Also on the card, Filip Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KOs) and Daniel Dubois (20-2, 19 KOs) will be fighting to maintain their positions as top contenders. Hrgovic, a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist, is coming off a first-round KO of Mark De Mori on the Joshua-Wallin card. Dubois bounced back from his knockout loss to Oleksandr Usyk by stopping Jarrell Miller in the 10th and final round, also on the Joshua-Wallin show. And 126-pound titleholder Raymond Ford (15-0-1, 8 KOs) will defend his belt against Nick Ball (19-0-1, 8 KOs). Ford, a 25-year-old from New Jersey, is coming off a sensational stoppage of Otabek Kholmatov with only seven seconds remaining in a fight he was losing on the cards to win the vacant WBA title. Ball (19-0-1, 11 KOs) is coming off a strong performance, a split draw against WBC beltholder Rey Vargas in March. The 27-year-old from the U.K. outpointed Isaac Dogboe before that.

ALSO FIGHTING THIS WEEK

FRIDAY

Brandon Adams vs. Francisco Veron, junior middleweights, Houston (DAZN)

SATURDAY

Nate Diaz vs. Jorge Masvidal, light heavyweights, Inglewood, California (pay-per-view)

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Pound-for-pound: Does No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk leap frog Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue?

Pound-for-pound: Does No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk leap frog Nos. 1 and 2 Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue to the top of the list?

Oleksandr Usyk gave the performance of a lifetime on Saturday in Saudi Arabia, rallying to defeat gigantic Tyson Fury by a split decision to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion in a quarter century.

But was it enough to catapult No. 3-ranked Usyk past Nos. 1 and 2 Terence Crawford and Naoya Inoue on the Boxing Junkie pound-for-pound list?

No.

Usyk (22-0, 14 KOs) deserves consideration for the top spot after taking down Anthony Joshua in back-to-back fights in 2021 and 2022, stopping Daniel Dubois in nine rounds in August and now handing Fury the first loss of his career.

That’s a hell of a run by any standard. And the former cruiserweight champ has done it against naturally larger men, who would have trouble competing with him if he were their size. That obviously works in his favor in the pound-for-pound debate.

So why isn’t he No. 1?

Let’s start with Crawford and Inoue. The gifted lower-weight stars don’t have quite the resume Usyk has but they’ve dominated one contender after another to climb to the top of the list and have shown no signs of weakness.

Remember: We were as amazed when Crawford demolished fellow pound-for-pounder Errol Spence Jr. and Inoue got up from a knockdown to destroy Luis Nery as we are now following Usyk’s historic victory over Fury.

And while we must keep in mind the size difference between Usyk and his heavyweight rivals, he dominated neither Joshua nor Fury and benefitted from a controversial call by the referee – a clean body shot that was ruled a low blow — against Dubois to maintain his perfect record.

Fury believes he did enough against Usyk to get the decision, which isn’t far fetched given the tight, back-and-forth war. Had it gone Fury’s way, we wouldn’t even be talking about Usyk as a potential No. 1.

None of the above is meant to denigrate Usyk’s accomplishments. He has demonstrated over the past two years that he not only is the top heavyweight at the moment but also an all-time great, which is the highest praise in boxing.

He just hasn’t done quite enough to leap frog two other future Hall of Famers, Crawford and Inoue.

Of course, we must add one thing: If Usyk fights and beats Fury again — particularly if it’s more convincing the second time — we’ll have to revisit our decision to leave him at No. 3.

What about Fury, who entered Saturday at No. 9? He drops to No. 11 — below Bam Rodriguez and Artur Beterbiev — after his disastrous performance against Francis Ngannou in October and his setback against Usyk on Saturday.

And, obviously, Fury also can change his fortunes if he can turn the tables on Usyk in a rematch.

Next pound-for-pounder up: No. 8 Gervonta Davis will face Frank Martin and No. 15 David Benavidez will take on Oleksandr Gvozdyk on the same card June 15 in Las Vegas.

Here’s what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

Terence Crawford – Scheduled to challenge 154-pound titleholder

Israil Madrimov on Aug. 3 in Los Angeles.
Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
Oleksandr Usyk – No fight scheduled.
Dmitry Bivol – Fight against No. 12 Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed 175-pound championship, originally scheduled for June 1, was postponed after Beterbiev injured his knee.
Juan Francisco Estrada – Scheduled to defend his 115-pound title against No. 11 Jesse Rodriguez on June 29 in Phoenix.
Canelo Alvarez – No fight scheduled.
Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to defend his 135-pound title against Frank Martin on June 15 in Las Vegas.
Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez – Scheduled to face No. 5 Juan Francisco Estrada for Estrada’s 115-pound title on June 29 in Phoenix.
Artur Beterbiev – Fight against No. 4 Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed 175-pound championship, originally scheduled for June 1, was postponed after Beterbiev injured his knee.
Tyson Fury – No fight scheduled.
Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
Vasiliy Lomachenko – No fight scheduled.
Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduled.
David Benavidez – Scheduled to fight 175-pounder Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15 in Las Vegas.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to face Fernando Martinez in a 115-pound title-unification bout in on July 7 in Tokyo); Teofimo Lopez (scheduled to defend his 140-pound title against Steve Claggett on June 29 in Miami); Junto Nakatani (scheduled to defend his 118-pound title against Vincent Astrolabio on July 20 in Tokyo).

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Pound-for-pound: Did No. 2 Naoya Inoue do enough to supplant No. 1 Terence Crawford?

Pound-for-pound: Did No. 2 Naoya Inoue do enough in his breathtaking victory over Luis Ney to supplant No. 1 Terence Crawford?

Who’s truly the best fighter in the world pound-for-pound? Depends who you talk to.

Terence Crawford, No. 1 on Boxing Junkie’s list, and No. 2 Inoue are both unbeaten, near-flawless all-around fighters who have dominated almost everyone they’ve faced over an extended period of time.

Inoue (27-0, 24 KOs) was at his glorious best in the early morning hours (U.S. time) Monday in Japan.

Luis Nery shocked everyone watching by putting Inoue down in the opening round but that only hardened Inoue’s resolve. The 122-pound champion responded by destroying a good opponent, putting him on the canvas three times and brutally stopping him in Round 6.

Inoue was nothing short of brilliant. It becomes more and more clear that he’s one of the best to ever do it.

And don’t count the knockdown against him when assessing his pound-for-pound credentials. Almost all the great ones have gone down. The important thing is they get up and demonstrate who’s the better man, as Inoue did in spectacular fashion on Monday.

The question is whether he did enough — or is good enough — to supplant Crawford at No. 1. That answer is no, at least for now.

The resume of Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) is roughly equal to that of Inoue. Both of them have faced a long list of top contenders but relatively few pound-for-pound-caliber foes, although Crawford is coming a ninth-round knockout of Errol Spence Jr. last July.

And Crawford has been as dominating as Inoue, unleashing an overwhelming combination of skill, speed and power on one opponent after another.

The knockout of Spence, a pound-for-pounder himself, was just as breathtaking as Inoue’s annihilation of Nery at the Tokyo Dome even though Crawford didn’t have to demonstrate that he could overcome adversity.

Crawford has been nothing short of brilliant his entire career, which is why he was Boxing Junkie’s top pound-for-pounder since this feature was initiated in 2019 and hasn’t budged.

How could we justify demoting him under those circumstances? We can’t.

Inoue could reach the top at some point in part because of their respective ages: He’s 31, Crawford 36. That time simply isn’t now.

Another pound-for-pounder was in action on May 4, No. 6 Canelo Alvarez, who defeated Jaime Munguia by a one-sided decision in Las Vegas.

The superstar looked sharp but he was never destined to leap up the list because Munguia was not ranked. However, sitting directly above Alvarez at No. 5 is fellow Mexican Juan Francisco Estrada.

Did Alvarez do enough to swap places with his countryman? That’s a matter of interpretation. We decided to leave Alvarez where he is in good part because Estrada is scheduled to face rising star and No. 10 “Bam” Rodriguez on June 29. Estrada’s fate is in his hands.

Next pound-for-pounder up: No. 13 Vasiliy Lomachenko is scheduled to face George Kambosos Jr. for the vacant IBF 135-pound title May 12 in Australia..

Here’s what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

Terence Crawford – Scheduled to challenge 154-pound titleholder

Israil Madrimov on Aug. 3 in Los Angeles.
Naoya Inoue – No fight scheduled.
Oleksandr Usyk – Scheduled to face No. 9 Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight championship on May 18 in Saudi Arabia.
Dmitry Bivol – Fight against No. 12 Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed 175-pound championship, originally scheduled for June 1, was postponed after Beterbiev injured his knee.
Juan Francisco Estrada – Scheduled to defend his 115-pound title against No. 11 Jesse Rodriguez on June 29 in Phoenix.
Canelo Alvarez – No fight scheduled.
Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
Gervonta Davis – Scheduled to defend his 135-pound title against Frank Martin on June 15 in Las Vegas.
Tyson Fury – Scheduled to face No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship on May 18 in Saudi Arabia.
Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez – Scheduled to face No. 5 Juan Francisco Estrada for Estrada’s 115-pound title on June 29 in Phoenix.
Artur Beterbiev – Fight against No. 4 Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed 175-pound championship, originally scheduled for June 1, was postponed after Beterbiev injured his knee.
Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
Vasiliy Lomachenko – Scheduled to face George Kambosos Jr. for the vacant IBF 135-pound title May 12 in Australia.
Shakur Stevenson – No fight scheduld.
David Benavidez – Scheduled to fight 175-pounder Oleksandr Gvozdyk on June 15 in Las Vegas.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); Kazuto Ioka (scheduled to face Fernando Martinez in a 115-pound title-unification bout in on July 7 in Tokyo); Teofimo Lopez (reportedly near a deal to defend his 140-pound title against Steve Claggett on June 29 in Miami); Junto Nakatani (no fight scheduled).

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Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol fight postponed after Beterbiev injures knee

The June 1 Artur Beterbiev-Dmitry Bivol bout for the 175-pound championship was postponed after Beterbiev injured his knee in training.

The fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed 175-pound championship, scheduled for June 1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, was postponed after Beterbiev injured his knee in training.

The IBF, WBC and WBO titleholder ruptured his meniscus, Top Rank announced in a news release.

The promotional company plans to stage the light heavyweight showdown before the end of the year.

The 5 vs. 5 portion of the show, in which fighters from Matchroom and Queensberry Promotions will face one another, will go on as scheduled June 1 on DAZN.

These are the five fights:

Deontay Wilder vs. Zhelei Zhang, heavyweights
Filip Hrgovic vs. Daniel Dubois, heavyweights
Raymond Ford vs. Nick Ball, featherweights (for Ford’s WBA title)
Austin Williams vs. Hamzah Sheeraz, middleweights
Craig Richards vs. Willy Hutchinson, light heavyweights

The Beterbiev-Bivol bout has been highly anticipated, as both fighters are unbeaten and on pound-for-pound lists.

Beterbiev, 39, has stopped all 20 of his opponents, including Callum Smith in seven rounds in January.

Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs) is best known for defeating Canelo Alvarez in May 2022. He has since outpointed then-unbeaten Gilberto Ramirez and Lyndon Arthur by one-sided decisions.

The Arthur fight took place in in December, meaning Bivol will have been out of action for extended period of time in light of the postponement.

Pound-for-pound: Did Isaac Cruz do enough against Rolando Romero to crack list?

Pound-for-pound: Did Isaac Cruz do enough against Rolando Romero to crack Boxing Junkie’s list?

Isaac Cruz made a strong impression with his eighth-round knockout of Rolando Romero on Saturday in Las Vegas.

But did the new 140-pound titleholder from Mexico do enough in that fight — and does he have the resume — to climb onto Boxing Junkie’s pound-for-pound list?

Not quite.

Everyone agrees that Cruz is evolving into a formidable fighting machine, a pressure fighter with the fitness, durability and punching power to dominate opponents.

However, we shouldn’t overreact to a one-sided victory over Romero, a good, but limited fighter. And Cruz still doesn’t have a victory over a top-tier opponent, although he gave Gervonta Davis hell in defeat in 2021.

Bottom line: Cruz has to beat a pound-for-pounder or someone of that caliber to leave no doubt that he belongs with the best in the business.

And those matchups will come soon enough if Cruz (26-2-1, 18 KOs) continues to win. Perhaps showdowns with the likes of fellow beltholders Devin Haney or Teofimo Lopez — or maybe even a rematch with Davis — are in his near future.

A victory over any of the above would be enough to lift Cruz to the next level. Stay tuned.

What about Sebastian Fundora?

The new 154-pound champ defeated rising star Tim Tszyu by a split decision in the main event on Saturday, an accomplishment for which Fundora (21-1-1, 13 KOs) deserves credit.

However, we can’t draw firm conclusions because Tszyu was effectively blinded by blood in his eyes, the result of a ghastly cut on his hairline. Plus, Fundora was knocked out by Brian Mendoza in his previous fight.

Fundora’s time might come, just not now.

Next pound-for-pounder up: No. 10 Devin Haney is scheduled to defend his WBC 140-pound title against Ryan Garcia on April 20 on pay-per-view from Las Vegas.

Here’s what the list looks like at the moment:

BOXING JUNKIE
POUND-FOR-POUND

Terence Crawford – No fight scheduled.
Naoya Inoue – Scheduled to defend his undisputed 122-pound championship against Luis Nery on May 6 in Japan.
Oleksandr Usyk – Scheduled to face No. 9 Tyson Fury for the undisputed heavyweight championship on May 18 in Saudi Arabia.
Dmitry Bivol – Scheduled to face No. 12 Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed 175-pound championship on June 1 in Saudi Arabia.
Juan Francisco Estrada – Scheduled to defend his 115-pound title against No. 11 Jesse Rodriguez on June 29 in Phoenix.
Canelo Alvarez – Scheduled to face Jaime Munguia for the undisputed 168-pound championship on May 4 in Las Vegas.
Jermell Charlo – No fight scheduled.
Gervonta Davis – No fight scheduled.
Tyson Fury – Scheduled to face No. 3 Oleksandr Usyk for the undisputed heavyweight championship on May 18 in Saudi Arabia.
Devin Haney– Scheduled to defend his WBC 140-pound title against Ryan Garcia on April 20 in Las Vegas.
Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez – Scheduled to face No. 5 Juan Francisco Estrada for Estrada’s 115-pound title on June 29 in Phoenix.
Artur Beterbiev – Scheduled to face No. 4 Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed 175-pound championship on June 1 in Saudi Arabia.
Errol Spence Jr. – No fight scheduled.
Vasiliy Lomachenko – Scheduled to face George Kambosos Jr. for the vacant IBF 135-pound title May 12 in Australia.
Shakur Stevenson– Reportedly near a deal to defend his 135-pound title against Artem Harutyunyan on July 6 in Newark, New Jersey.

Honorable mention (alphabetical order): David Benavidez (has agreed to fight 175-pounder Oleksandr Gvozdyk in June but no announcement has been made); Jermall Charlo (no fight scheduled); Roman Gonzalez (no fight scheduled); Kazuto Ioka (no fight scheduled); Teofimo Lopez (reportedly near a deal to defend his 140-pound title against Steve Claggett on June 29 in Miami).

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Report: Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang in works for Bivol-Beterbiev card on June 1

ESPN is reporting that Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang are near a deal to fight one another on the Dmitry Bivol-Artur Beterbiev card.

The new capital of heavyweight boxing is about to deliver two more fights featuring prominent big men.

ESPN is reporting that former heavyweight titleholder Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang are nearing a deal to fight one another on the Dmitry Bivol-Artur Beterbiev card June 1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Also, heavyweight contenders Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois are close to an agreement to meet on the same show.

Wilder (43-3-1, 42 KOs) will be trying to reestablish himself as a top heavyweight after losing three of his last four fights, two knockouts against Tyson Fury in 2020 and 2021 and a one-sided decision against Joseph Parker in December.

The 38-year-old American’s only victory since 2019 was a first-round knockout of Robert Helenius in 2022.

Zhang (26-2-1, 21 KOs) built considerable momentum by stopping Joe Joyce twice last year but the 40-year-old from China crashed back to earth against Parker in March, losing a majority decision even though he decked Parker twice.

Hrgovic (17-0, 14 KOs) is a 2016 Olympic bronze medalist from Croatia. His biggest victory was a unanimous decision over Zhang in 2022.

Dubois (20-2, 19 KOs) nearly pulled off a huge upset when he floored titleholder Oleksandr Usyk with a body shot in August. However, the punch was ruled a low blow, Usyk was given time to recover and the champ stopped Dubois in the ninth round.

Dubois bounced back by stopping Jarrell Miller in the 10th round in December.

Bivol vs. Beterbiev, for the undisputed 175-pound championship, is one of the most anticipated fights in the sport.

Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs) is best known for defeating Canelo Alvarez in 2022 but he has a long track record of dominating top contenders. Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) also has overwhelmed opponents, none of whom have reached the final bell.

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