Dmitry Bivol drops, shuts out overmatched Lyndon Arthur

Dmitry Bivol didn’t get a knockout but he couldn’t have been much more dominating.

The light heavyweight titleholder and pound-for-pounder dropped overmatched Lyndon Arthur en route to winning a shutout decision in defense of his 175-pound title on a card featuring Deontay Wilder and Anthony Joshua on Saturday in Saudi Arabia.

Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs) dominated the fight from the beginning with his consistent jab, quick, straight right hands, an occasional body shot and his knack for avoiding his opponent’s best shots.

Arthur (23-2, 16 KOs) jabbed and threw some power shots but, fighting on his back foot almost the entire fight, he was more concerned with surviving — parrying Bivol’s punches, ducking out of the way or holding — than mounting an offense of his own.

That’s how Bivol was able to win round after round of a one-sided fight.

Bivol put Arthur down in the final seconds of Round 11, the result of a flurry of shots capped by a vicious left to the body that forced Arthur to take a knee. The Russian tried to finish the job in Round 12 with two salvos but the loser managed to stay on his feet.

All three judges scored it the same, 120-107. Boxing Junkie had the same score.

The consensus 2022 Fighter of the Year — after beating Canelo Alvarez and Gilberto Ramirez.– could face fellow beltholder Artur Beterbiev for the undisputed championship next if Beterbiev gets past Callum Smith on Jan. 13.