By Ian S Palmer
Original article: https://www.sportsbetlistings.com/boxing/dmitry-bivol-vs-lyndon-arthur-betting-odds-and-prediction/22479/
Unbeaten Dmitry Bivol of Russia will be defending his WBA Super World Light Heavyweight Title for the 11th time this Saturday, December 23rd against Lyndon Arthur of Manchester, England, who will be putting his IBO Belt on the line. The 12-rounder from Saudi Arabia can be seen live in most nations on DAZN pay per view while fans in the UK and Ireland can also see it on TNT Sports Box Office. Bivol last fought in November of last year when he easily beat Gilberto Ramirez by unanimous decision. Arthur last saw action in August when he stopped Braian Suarez with a body shot in the 10th round after being dropped himself in the fourth round. Suarez wasn’t eligible to win the vacant IBO Title in the fight as he came in over weight.
The 32-year-old Bivol was born in Kyrgyzstan and now fights out of California. He enjoyed an excellent amateur career with a reported record of 268-15 and won numerous national championships before turning pro in 2014. Since then he’s boxed 1720 rounds and has compiled a perfect record of 21-0 with 11 Kos. He has pretty good power in his punches with a current knockout ratio of 52.4 per cent, but has gone the distance in his last eight outings with his last knockout victory coming in 2018 when he stopped Sullivan Barrera in the 12th round.
Bivol, who stands 6-feet tall with a 72-inch reach, owns smooth boxing skills and always seems to eventually wear his foes down with his heavy hands. He’s faced some good opponents so far with wins over Gilberto Ramirez, Canelo Alvarez, Lenin Castillo, Joe Smith, Jean Pascal, Isaac Chilemba, Sullivan Barrera, Cedric Agnew, Robert Berridge and Felix Valera. Bivol won the interim WBA Championship in May, 2016 when he beat Valera by a unanimous decision.
He was then elevated to full champion when Badou Jack gave up the WBA title after beating former champ Nathan Cleverly. He’d like to unify the light heavyweight titles at some time by taking on WBC and IBF champ Artur Beterbiev if he can get past Arthur this weekend. Bivol seems to fight to the level of his opposition as he sometimes looks mediocre against average boxers but certainly raised his game against Alvarez and Ramirez regardless of what the scorecards read in the Canelo fight.
The 32-year-old Arthur enters the ring with an impressive mark of 23-1 with 16 Ko’s and has boxed 115 rounds since making his pro debut in 2016 following his amateur career. Since then he captured the vacant British Commonwealth Light Heavyweight Title in October, 2019 via a 12-round unanimous decision over Emmanuel Amin. He defended it against Doc Spelman by unanimous decision before beating Anthony Yarde by 12-round split decision in December, 2020 to add the vacant WBO Inter-Continental Crown.
He defended the WBO belt with a ninth-round TKO over Davide Faraci but then lost both of his titles when he was halted by Yarde in the fourth round of their 2021 rematch. Arthur bounced back from his lone pro defeat with TKO wins over Walter Sequiria (5th rd) and Joel McIntyre (2nd rd) before beating Boris Crighton on points over 10 rounds and then stopping Braian Suarez in his latest outing in September. Twelve of Arthur’s first 14 opponents all had losing records before stepping up in class.
Still, Yarde is basically his only well-known opponent and he used his boxing skills to upset him in a close split decision in their first meeting. As far as power is concerned, Arthur is above average as 70 per cent of his wins have come by stoppage and is 4-1 in his last five outings with three stoppage wins. He has a decent chin even though Yarde halted him and he stands 6-feet-2-inches with a 74-inch reach which gives him a two-inch edge in height and reach on Bivol.
Prediction…
Fans are never sure which Bivol will show up. At his best he looks like a devastating puncher who can take anybody out but often looks lethargic while being forced to go the distance and doing just enough to win. Bivol seems to fight to the level of his opponent too often but was at his best against Canelo Alvarez and Gilberto Ramirez in his last two fights. He needs to be wary of Arthur’s power as he has enough of it to do some damage. Bivol has all of the tools needed to be a top-10, pound-for-found boxer but needs to utilize them in every fight not just against the top-tier opponents. He wins this fight quite handily though.
