It’s almost time for the historic “Day of Reckoning” fight card at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as Dmitry Bivol will attempt to defend his WBA light heavyweight title today when he faces Manchester-born Lyndon Arthur.
Arthur should feel confident entering his first world title fight as an underdog. As one of Britain’s premier 175-pound talents with an outstanding 23-1 record that includes 16 wins by knockout.
Recall that Arthur lost only once during that span to fellow Brit Anthony Yarde, via fourth round knockout defeat, though has made four consecutive stops since.
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When Bivol, 33, plays Arthur, his 13-month sabbatical will come to an end. The native of Kyrgyzstan hasn’t competed since November 2022, when he easily defeated Mexican southpaw Gilberto Ramirez during their 12-round match at Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi via unanimous decision.
With just under 6 weeks’ notice, the 32-year-old Arthur took this championship opportunity against one of the top boxers throughout the sport, pound for pound, after talks between Bivol’s managers and Richard Rivera’s reps broke down.
Considering the effect he had throughout 2022, Bivol’s quiet year is disheartening, but Saturday is a chance to garner some attention before he might face Beterbiev in the latter half of next year.
On the other hand, the showdown between Dubois and Miller will seemingly provide plenty of fireworks, with two heavy-handed fighters looking for the knockout. Dubois needs to let Miller feel his power early but has to be wary not to be caught himself.
Miller will seemingly look to drag this fight into later rounds before taking over with his effective pressure tactics.
