They Laughed When Dmitry Bivol Fell—But Then This Happened...

Dmitry Bivol dominant in unanimous decision over Joe Smith Jr. Dmitry Bivol is one of the best fighters in the world at 175 pounds. The 28-year-old showed made his case by outclassing Joe Smith Jr. to win via unanimous decision (119-109, 119-109, 118-110) and successfully defend the WBA light heavyweight championship at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, N.Y. Sporting News had the fight scored 118-110 for Bivol. For the majority of the contest, Bivol (16-0, 11 KOs) used his superior boxing skills to offset Smith’s slugging style. He kept Smith at distance with the jab and when Bivol saw an opening, he would attack the head and body of Smith. The Russian had Smith in trouble in the seventh round when he staggered his overmatched opponent with a left hook. Then, in the final moments of the fight, Bivol stunned Smith with a right hand, but the champion ran out of time to close the show. Smith (24-3, 20 KOs) didn’t have many moments aside from an occasional right hand. His finest moment in the fight came at the end of the tenth round when he stunned Bivol with that patented overhand right. Bivol was clearly hurt by the punch and needed the assistance of the ropes to make it back to his corner. Unfortunately, Smith was unable to capitalize in the following round against a dazed Bivol as he was unable to land another flush shot. It’s hard to see what’s next for Bivol as all of the other champions at 175 pounds are affiliated with different promoters. Bivol is willing to take on IBF titlist Artur Beterbiev, WBO champion Sergey Kovalev or WBC titleholder Oleksandr Gvozdyk to see who the best is in the division. If not, Bivol isn’t against a drop down to super middleweight for a fight against WBC champion Callum Smith. Only time will tell for one of boxing’s best.