Conor McGregor distracts Eddie Hearn and Cristiano Ronaldo during Dmitry Bivol's win over Lyndon Arthur

23/12/2023 22:35

Dmitry Bivol cruised to victory over Lyndon Arthur while Conor McGregor and Cristiano Ronaldo watched on.

It was not the most exciting fight and this showed, as McGregor appeared to lose interest at ringside.

Midway through the eighth round of the fight, McGregor could be seen shadow boxing on the broadcast and distracting promoter Eddie Hearn, as well as conversing with Ronaldo.

But, in the ring, Bivol got the job done, winning a shutout unanimous decision with all three judges scoring it 120-107.

In the opening round, as predicted by many prior to the fight, it was the battle of the jabs, as Bivol pursued his opponent around the ring while Arthur attempted to keep him at bay.

But, in the second, it became evident that Bivol had little respect for what was coming back from Arthur, as he pinned his opponent against the ropes and let his power punches go.

Arthur survived the onslaught, but it continued over the next few rounds, as Bivol peppered the Brit from all angles.

As the fight reached it’s midpoint, Arthur seemed to have somewhat subdued Bivol, as the pace slowed.

With that being said, Bivol had still built a huge lead on the judges’ scorecards and he was well in control of the fight.

Frustration seemed to be setting in for Bivol as the fight wore on, despite being on top, as he struggled to break the tight guard of Arthur and kept smothering his work while searching for a knockout.

In round eleven, however, Bivol finally saw the fruits of his labour, as he dropped Arthur with a brutal left hook to the body following a flurry of one-twos, but the Brit was saved by the bell and made it back to his corner.

Bivol came out firing in the final round, unleashing a relentless combination, as he trapped his opponent against the ropes, but Arthur absorbed the barrage until he heard the final bell.

As expected, on the judges scorecards it was a landslide victory for Bivol, as he defended his WBA light-heavyweight world titles.

This sets up an undisputed world title fight at 175 lbs for Bivol next time out, as he seems set to take on the winner of WBC, WBO and IBF champion Artur Beterbiev vs Callum Smith, which will take place on January 13.