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The hard-hitting Russian is now the WBC and IBF light heavyweight champion.
It’s full Russian dominance at light heavyweight now.
In a terrific bout in Philadelphia, Artur Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KOs) became the first man to defeat Oleksandr Gvozdyk (17-1, 14 KOs) in the professional ranks, stopping him in the tenth round to become the WBC and IBF champion at 175-pounds. Beterbiev came in as the IBF champ, while Gvozdyk was the WBC titleholder.
It was champ vs. champ and the fight lived up to the hype.
Beterbiev wasn’t interested in a feel-out process, as he threw power punches early. They both worked their jabs, although the Ukrainian was more willing to throw in combinations in the opening frame. It looked as if Gvozdyk would have round one in his favor on the scorecards, but somehow referee Gary Rosato saw a push by Beterbiev as a knockdown. However, the Pennsylvania commission used video replay to overturn the call.
Gvozdyk found success with his combination work and sharp punching in the third round, but Beterbiev showed off his own quality boxing skills. The body shots from Beterbiev noticeably bothered Gvozdyk in the fifth, as the two went back-and-forth with their offense. Round six had a crazy exchange in the final minute as they turned up the heat on each other. They both landed right hands on each other, but Beterbiev looked like he took it worse. Huge bombs were exchanged and Gvozdyk was connecting more cleanly. Beterbiev appeared to knockdown Gvozdyk but that proved to be a push/slip, and this time the ref got the call right.
With the fight still incredibly close, Gvozdyk had arguably his best round, repeatedly tagging Beterbiev with hard right hands and working well off the counter. Beterbiev responded with some strong body work and head shots that had Gvozdyk badly shaken in round nine. Gvozdyk was hurt from a straight left to the body early in the ninth, and he never really recovered (despite his successful effort to essentially call timeout to act as if something was wrong with his left hand). A barrage of shots that had Gvozdyk nearly out on his feet, as Beterbiev was relentless with his pressure and the body shots were causing Oleksandr to wilt.
Beterbiev continued his onslaught into the 10th round and Gvozdyk once again went down to the canvas, but it was a clear push that caused him to fall over. Not to worry, as he didn’t let up and clubbed Gvozdyk until he took a knee for the first knockdown. Two more knockdowns of an exhausted and thoroughly demoralized Gvozdyk led to the referee calling the fight off. A brilliant result for the 34-year-old, who is good friends with legendary former UFC champion Georges St-Pierre. It was a mostly stunned crowd in Philly, as the Ukrainian contingent watched their fighter lose his title.
Official result: Artur Beterbiev def. Oleksandr Gvozdyk by TKO, 2:49 of round 10 to unify WBC and IBF light heavyweight titles
Gvozdyk was ahead on two of the three scorecards at the time of the stoppage, so Beterbiev needed a strong push to get the win and he did exactly that.
Ten years ago, Gvozdyk stopped Beterbiev in the amateurs. Now, he’s done it again to unify titles and make it clear that he’s the top dog at LHW.