Dmitry Bivol answers if Artur Beterbiev hits as hard as everyone claims following controversial loss: “You see my eye"

Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev went to war over twelve rounds on Oct. 12 for a chance to become the undisputed light heavyweight world champion. With neither man having tasted defeat before their clash, it was arguably the most anticipated bout of boxing's 2024 calendar.

Beterbiev entered the bout with a record of 20-0, with all twenty of his wins coming via stoppage. The almost-mythical power of the 39-year-old has made waves throughout the boxing world, but he was unable to land a knockout punch on the elusive Bivol.

Despite not securing the stoppage victory, Beterbiev was awarded a majority decision win by the judges, albeit controversially.

Many felt that the younger pugilist should have had his hand raised, none more so than Bivol's promoter Eddie Hearn, who left a scathing review of the judges' performance.

Following the fight, the former undefeated fighter was interviewed by iFL TV, where he was asked if Beterbiev's punching power was as great as everyone had said. The 33-year-old replied:

"It's hard, but not as [hard] as people are describing. Yeah, it's hard, you see my eye. He landed a lot of punches on my left hand, through my hand. You see the bruises. He [hits] hard but we can handle these hard punches."

Watch Dmitry Bivol's comments below (2:10):

---

Eddie Hearn rages after Dmitry Bivol suffers decision defeat against Artur Beterbiev

Dmitry Bivol suffered the first loss of his professional career, much to the delight of his ex-wife, against Artur Beterbiev in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia on Oct. 12.

The former WBA and IBO light heavyweight champion was immensely gracious despite the controversial result, refraining from commenting on the judges' scorecards as he did not want to make any excuses for his defeat.

Bivol's promoter, Eddie Hearn, did not remain tight-lipped however, and took aim at the judges during the post-fight press conference. He said this:

"I don't want to disrespect Artur Beterbiev and his team because they're just incredible fighters. But I find it sickening that after a lifetime of hard work Dmitry Bivol is not the undisputed champion tonight. He won that fight, I struggled to find anybody on our row, the row behind, the TV rows who didn't score the fight for Dmitry Bivol. To find a judge who gave that fight 116-112, and give Dmitry four rounds in that fight, this judge should never work in the sport again."

Watch Eddie Hearn's comments below (0:25):