Beterbiev vs Bivol LIVE: Updates and undercard results from undisputed rematch after Martin Bakole replaces Daniel Dubois – UK Times

The first fight of the night is just minutes away!

Joshua Buatsi defends the WBO interim light-heavyweight title against Callum Smith, in an all-British affair.

The winner will have a claim to fight the victor of tonight’s main event between Bivol and Beterbiev. Of course, if Bivol wins later, a trilogy fight with Beterbiev may ensue…

But unbeaten Londoner Buatsi, and Liverpool’s Smith, will cross their fingers anyway!

T-minus 15 minutes until the main card begins!

Don’t go anywhere, we’ll have you covered with live updates from every fight.

This should be a good one tonight.

While Bivol’s claim that he must “add more” is admirable, one could argue he took enough risks and showed sufficient defence to have won the first fight. But regardless of what the boxers think, or fans and pundits, what do the numbers say?

In the underground venue HERE, in London’s West End, Dmitry Bivol is hunched forward on a sofa. Dictaphones are jabbed towards a stoic face illuminated by a bright white studio light. He clasps his calloused hands, one thumbnail sporting a dark bruise. Barely 10 metres away, a topless Artur Beterbiev shadow-boxes in front of a green screen. It is a surreal scene.

Beterbiev is soon gone, while Bivol stays to answer questions. His answers are thoughtful yet mostly directed at the ground, his gaze barely straying above the semi-circle of audio recorders in front of him.

Bivol’s English is not as dynamic as his boxing, but it is good; he just happens to be a man of few words. Thankfully, from our perspective, he is a man of more words than Beterbiev, his similarly part-Russian rival.

With this in mind, one moment juts out of his conversation with The Independent and other publications. It is the moment he describes the week after his loss to Beterbiev – a controversial result in October, which marked Bivol’s first defeat as a professional and crowned Beterbiev the undisputed light-heavyweight champion.

“It was a… tasteless life,” Bivol says, with a surprisingly easy poeticism. There is the slightest grimace from the 34-year-old, too.

So, Shakur Stevenson is boxing Josh Padley tonight, NOT Floyd Schofield (pictured below).

Schofield fell ill this week and was pulled from the bout, leading Padley to step in on three days’ notice.

It was all very Dubois-Parker-Bakole!

Ahead of tonight’s fight with Bakole, and before Dubois’s withdrawal, Parker joined a call with The Independent and other publications.

He discussed his career rebirth and told us how he survived those knockdowns by Zhang – and why that could be important tonight:

“Those are the moments when you have to really knuckle down, show good form, and be calm under pressure. I think if Zhang had a better gas tank, it could’ve been a different fight. But I did my work, my fitness and endurance was very good.

“I did a bit of work on staying calm under pressure, with a few guys outside of boxing. Using imagery in your head, I think, is very important – because when something happens, it’s not a shock to the system; you’ve already played it, you know how to come back from it.”

Joseph Parker would not want your pity, not least because he expects to beat Martin Bakole tonight. But the reality is, the New Zealander has taken a massive, surely unnecessary risk on two day’s notice: a risk to his legacy, his future earnings, and his health.

Asked for a prediction on Parker vs Bakole, Oleksandr Usyk told DAZN on Friday: “I don’t know, we’ll see. I want to fight next with…

“Dubois. Yeah, why not?”

Short and sweet from the unified heavyweight champion.

So, he doesn’t care what happens between Parker and Bakole, it seems!

It is unclear whether Dubois vs Parker will be organised, but that outcome feels unlikely at this point.

With the WBO putting an interim title on the line in Saturday’s heavyweight clash – and Usyk holding the regular WBO belt – the same opportunity should be handed to Bakole if he beats Parker, in theory.

However, with Bakole having fewer wins than Parker at the elite level, some feel the Congolese should box Dubois next if he wins on Saturday, not fight Usyk.

Complicating the picture somewhat is Anthony Joshua, who lost to Dubois via knockout in September and has toyed with the idea of a rematch since. It was thought he might be waiting for the winner of Dubois vs Parker, although others felt Dubois or Parker should be guaranteed a shot at Usyk with a win this weekend.

As of Thursday afternoon, we were still expecting Dubois vs Parker, but the bout fell apart quickly that evening.

Dubois was taken ill, pulled from the fight, and Bakole stepped up.

Here’s how it happened: