Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol’s top 10 wins

10. Artur Beterbiev TKO2 Tavoris Cloud

While not the cleanest knockout on his ledger, Beterbiev’s September 2014 demolition of the former IBF champion is one of the key moments in his career.

A match-up against Cloud, who at the time had lost just two of 26 bouts, to Bernard Hopkins and Adonis Stevenson, was seen by many to be a sizeable set-up for the then-29-year-old Beterbiev, who himself was just 5-0.

The fight itself would be anything but a step up, with Beterbiev flooring the Floridian three times in the opening round in a shocking display of punching power and predatory instinct. 

After being saved by the bell in the first, Cloud was sent out to the gallows in the second round. Beterbiev, typically, dispatched of his foe in swift fashion, swarming Cloud with a volley of unanswered shots in the corner before sending him to the canvas for a fourth time. 

The referee would wave off the contest at just 38 seconds into the second, securing a statement victory for Beterbiev that sent shockwaves throughout the light-heavyweight division.

9. Artur Beterbiev TKO8 Anthony Yarde

In arguably his most exciting fight to date. Beterbiev would cross the Atlantic to take on highly-rated light-heavyweight contender Anthony Yarde at Wembley Arena, London.

After struggling with the fas, twitchy movements of Yarde in the opening couple of rounds, Beyerbiev would start to grind his man down, hurting Yarde with an overhand right in the fourth round that shook the Brit to his boots.

The middle rounds saw both men land hurtful shots, but as has so often been the case in his career, the pressure and punching power of Beterbiev started to pay dividends. After riding out a mini-storm in the sixth, Beterbiev began busting his man up in the seventh, chopping away to head and body with Yarde trapped in the corners and against the ropes.

A short right hand sent Yarde toppling to the canvas in the eighth before the follow-up salvo was cut short by trainer Tunde Ajayi, who mercifully spared his man any further punishment.

Yarde and Beterbiev produced a light-heavyweight classic at Wembley Arena on January 28, 2023 (James Chance/Getty Images)

8. Dmitry Bivol UD12 Jean Pascal

Bivol’s November 2018 bout with Canada’s Jean Pascal was, at the time, seen as a step up in competition. A physically strong, explosive puncher, former WBC titleholder Pascal was the first world champion Bivol had faced in his professional career. 

However, the bout itself would be little more competitive than a spar for Bivol, who dissected the teak-tough Pascal over twelve one-sided rounds to secure another routine unanimous decision victory.

While not the most spectacular performance on this list, the way in which Bivol neutralised a still-live opponent in Pascal was another key indictor of his ice-cool capabilities.

7. Dmitry Bivol UD12 Joe Smith Jr.

Making the fifth defence of his WBA title in March 2019, Bivol took on blue-collar power-puncher Joe Smith Jr. in Smith Jr.’s home state of New York.

From the opening bell, Bivol’s super footwork and skill set shone through, with his supreme control of distance limiting Smith Jr. to fleeting moments of success throughout. 

By and large, the bout showed Bivol’s strength in negating the offensive work of a bigger, more heavy-handed foe, but he was forced to recover from a big overhand right from Smith Jr. at the end of the tenth round. The shot, landed just before the bell to finish the session, landed high on the head of Bivol, momentarily dipping his legs.

Nevertheless, Bivol would recover well and safely navigate the remainder of the bout, notching up his sixteenth consecutive win with a lop-sided unanimous decision.

6. Artur Beterbiev TKO9 Marcus Browne

Although the fight is remembered more for the horrific gash on Beterbiev’s forehead, the Russian’s ninth-round beatdown of former WBA belt holder Marcus Browne back in December 2021 was another hugely impressive display of pressure fighting.

After taking a look at Browne for the first couple of rounds, Beterbiev began upping the tempo at the end of the third, forcing his fleet-footed opponent to stand and trade. Following an accidental clash of heads in the fourth, the pace would increase again, with Beterbiev suffocating Browne against the ropes and overwhelming him with hurtful combinations to head and body.

A seventh-round knockdown signalled the end was nigh, but it wasn’t until two rounds later that Beterbiev found the finishing touches. A straight right hand staggered Browne in the ninth, sending him back to the ropes where Beterbiev would uncork a savage left hook to the body, followed by a left uppercut to the head that closed the show.

Bernard Brault of Group Yvon Michel.

5. Dmitry Bivol UD Gilberto Ramirez

Six months on from the best win of his career, against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, Dmitry Bivol squared off with another Mexican in the form of Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez in November 2022 in Abu Dhabi.

After a heavily-hyped build-up, the fight itself was a shutout in favour of Bivol, who showcased his masterful outside boxing style to continually beat ‘Zurdo’ to the punch. Not only that, but Bivol would display his own willingness to stand in the pocket, trading with Ramirez on the inside while making him miss and countering with clean, effective blows.

Scorecards of 118-110 and 117-111 (x2) felt somewhat generous to Ramirez, such was the dominance on display from Bivol, with the Russian making the tenth successful defence of his WBA light-heavyweight title and securing the award for 2022 Fighter of the Year.

4. Artur Beterbiev TKO7 Callum Smith

While not his biggest win, it’s hard to deny that Beterbiev’s seven-round trouncing of Callum Smith in January 2024 ranks among his best performances.

Concerns around Beterbiev’s age and injury record filled the pre-fight airwaves. Smith, a former undefeated WBA super-middleweight champion, had lost just once in his career – a unanimous decision loss to Canelo Álvarez in December 2020 – and had looked reinvigorated by his move to 175lbs. The Brit was heavily favoured to pull off the upset, in some quarters at least.

However, on the night, the fight proved to be thoroughly one-sided. Usually a slow starter, Beterbiev sought Smith out from the opening bell, jumping on his man and suffocating him with clubbing blows to head and body. The bout also showed Beterbiev’s own boxing ability, as he negated the offensive threat of Smith behind a water-tight high guard before using his jab to outmanoeuvre and break down his 6ft 4” opponent.

Smith would suffer the first knockdown of his career in the seventh round before trainer Buddy McGirt called an end to the bout, with Beterbiev unloading on the battered and bruised Brit against the ropes.

Callum Smith (right) during his last fight against Artur Beterbiev (Getty Images)

3. Artur Beterbiev TKO2 Joe Smith Jr.

The only mutual opponent of Beterbiev and Bivol on this list is New York puncher Joe Smith Jr., who, after dropping a unanimous decision to Dmitry Bivol in March 2019, met Beterbiev in a unification bout a little over three years later in June 2022.

The bout would pit two of the division’s biggest punchers against each other, with Smith Jr. also having the added accolade of having never visited the canvas himself. However, he had never faced a puncher of Beterbiev’s calibre.

In what can only be described as a kamikaze approach, Smith Jr. would lunge recklessly at Beterbiev in the opening round, walking on to a right hand shortly before the bell that sent him down to one knee for the first time in his professional career.

Clearly dazed at the start of the second, the finish would come swiftly and mercilessly from Beterbiev as a combination sent Smith Jr. down again. After bravely dragging himself to his feet, the follow-up from Beterbiev sent Smith Jr. staggering around the ring and unable to defend himself, with referee Harvey Dock calling a halt to proceedings with 43 seconds remaining of the second round to hand Beterbiev another crushing stoppage victory.

2. Dmitry Bivol UD Canelo Álvarez

The most high-profile win on this list, by far, and undoubtedly the biggest and best win of Dmitry Bivol’s career came against Mexican star Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in May 2022.

‘Canelo’, at the time the reigning super-middleweight champion, would enter the bout a red-hot favourite despite moving up to the light-heavyweight limit for just the second time in his career against an unbeaten champion in Bivol.

However, to the surprise of many, ‘Canelo’ was made to look like a shadow of the fighter that ransacked the 168lbs division as Bivol utilised his superior size, footwork and skill to frustrate Alvarez at range, piling up the points behind his laser-accurate straight shots.

At the final bell, Bivol had clearly done enough to upset the sport’s marquee PPV attraction, securing a deserved unanimous decision on the scorecards to scupper Alvarez’s plans and establish himself as one of the best fighters on the planet.

May 7, 2022; Las Vegas, NV, USA; Saul “Canelo” Alvarez and Dmitry Bivol during their WBA light heavyweight championship bout at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Mandatory Credit: Ed Mulholland/Matchroom.

1. Artur Beterbiev TKO10 Oleksandr Gvozdyk

While not the star-power name of a Canelo Álvarez, Artur Beterbiev’s October 2019 win over then-unbeaten WBC & Lineal light-heavyweight champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk in October 2019 is, by some distance, the most impressive win for either Beterbiev or Bivol.

After a highly competitive, back-and-forth bout between two of the division’s elite competitors, it was ultimately the heavy-handed, relentless pressure of Beterbiev that forced Gvozdyk to crack late on. A dominant ninth round for the Russian swung the momentum in his favour, before three knockdowns in the 10th secured the victory in emphatic fashion.

Beterbiev’s win saw him crowned the IBF/WBC & Ring Magazine champion and took his perfect record to a mind-bending 18-0, 18 KOs.

Mikey Williams/Top Rank