The 30-second version
- ✓Two fights, two different winners: Beterbiev won fight one by majority decision in October 2024; Bivol won the immediate rematch by majority decision in February 2025.
- ✓Fight one ended Beterbiev's 100% knockout ratio: it was the first decision of his career, and he needed to sweep the last three rounds to get it.
- ✓Bivol actually outlanded Beterbiev in fight one (142-137) and still lost the decision, a reminder that output alone doesn't win rounds.
- ✓Bivol has since vacated the WBC belt (now David Benavidez's); he still holds the Ring, IBF, WBA and WBO titles.
- ✓At 41, Beterbiev hasn't fought since the rematch. A trilogy is talked about constantly and signed by neither side.
● The short answer
Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev have fought twice for the undisputed light heavyweight title, splitting the series. Beterbiev won the first meeting on October 12, 2024, in Riyadh by majority decision (116-112, 115-113, 114-114), ending his 100% knockout ratio but taking all four belts. Bivol won the immediate rematch on February 22, 2025, also by majority decision, to become the new undisputed champion. Beterbiev, now 41 and 21-1, hasn't fought since. Bivol, 26-1, has since vacated the WBC strap, which now belongs to David Benavidez, while keeping the Ring, IBF, WBA and WBO titles. A trilogy has been discussed but is not signed.
Boxing rivalries rarely split this cleanly. Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev have fought twice for the undisputed light heavyweight championship, and each man has exactly one win, by exactly the same kind of scorecard.
Fight one: the knockout artist wins on points
When Beterbiev and Bivol met on October 12, 2024, at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, the story going in was Beterbiev's finishing rate: 20 wins, 20 knockouts, a perfect record with zero fights going to the cards. It didn't happen that way. Bivol actually outlanded him, 142 punches to 137, connecting at a sharper 33.6% clip to Beterbiev's 20.1%. None of it mattered where it counted. Entering the championship rounds, Bivol led on two of three cards. Beterbiev swept rounds 10, 11 and 12 on every scorecard, turning a fight he was behind in into a majority decision win (116-112, 115-113, 114-114) and boxing's first undisputed light heavyweight champion since the four-belt era began.
Fight two: the rematch flips the same script
Four months later, on February 22, 2025, they did it again, and the result flipped: Bivol won by majority decision to become the new undisputed champion. The specifics of a shared trainer, shared gym and near-identical styles meant little had changed structurally between the two men. What changed was a few key exchanges across 12 rounds, the margin a rivalry this close always comes down to.
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Why a trilogy keeps not happening
On paper, nothing in boxing is a more obvious sell: two fights, two different winners, a genuine 1-1 series with the undisputed title changing hands. And yet. Beterbiev, now 41, hasn't fought since the loss. Bivol has moved on structurally too: he vacated the WBC belt rather than face a mandatory situation, a strap that now belongs to the surging David Benavidez, who is openly hunting a unification fight of his own. Every few months a trilogy gets floated by one side or the other. Neither bout agreement has landed.
What's actually at stake if it happens
A decider would settle a genuine either-way argument at the highest level the division has seen in years. It would also answer a simpler question time keeps asking louder: at 41, does Beterbiev still have the fight-ending power that made him boxing's most feared finisher for a decade, or did fight two show the first real crack? Until the bout agreement is signed, that's a question for forums and fantasy matchmakers, not a fight people can actually watch.
Two fights. Two winners. The same two judges' cards, flipped. If there's a cleaner rivalry in boxing right now, it isn't an easy one to name.
Read the full tale of the tape for Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev, or see where David Benavidez fits into the division's next chapter.
FAQ
Who won the Bivol vs. Beterbiev fights?+
Split 1-1. Artur Beterbiev won the first meeting by majority decision on October 12, 2024, in Riyadh. Dmitry Bivol won the rematch, also by majority decision, on February 22, 2025, to take the undisputed light heavyweight titles.
Is there a Bivol vs. Beterbiev 3 fight?+
Not signed. It has been discussed publicly since the rematch, but as of late 2026 neither fighter has a confirmed trilogy bout, and Beterbiev hasn't fought since losing the rematch.
Who holds the light heavyweight titles now?+
Dmitry Bivol holds the Ring, IBF, WBA (Super) and WBO titles. He vacated the WBC belt, which David Benavidez now holds.
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