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The fight between Artur Beterbiev and Oleksandr Gvozdyk marked the first-ever light heavyweight world title unification bout between two undefeated champions. When it was over, Beterbiev emerged victorious, scoring three knockdowns in the 10th round to secure a technical knockout win. The bout was competitive and thrilling, but Beterbiev gradually wore Gvozdyk down, unifying two 175-pound titles and claiming the lineal title at the Top Rank Boxing main event at Temple University’s Liacouras Center. “I tried to just box, and the knockout came. I don’t focus on knockouts,“ Beterbiev said. “I just kept going until the referee stopped it. This was my most important fight, and I worked hard for it.“ Leading into the fight, there was uncertainty about the outcome, with Beterbiev being only a slight favorite. In the end, however, he secured a convincing victory. The fight also served as a rematch of sorts, as Beterbiev had defeated Gvozdyk during their amateur careers in 2009. This time, it took Beterbiev longer to stop Gvozdyk (17-1, 14 KOs), but he ultimately overwhelmed him with powerful right hands. At the time of the stoppage, the judges' scorecards were mixed: John McKaie had Gvozdyk ahead 87-84, Ron McNair had him leading 86-85, and John Poturaj had Beterbiev up 87-83. ESPN’s scorecard had Beterbiev narrowly ahead 86-85. Despite the close rounds, Beterbiev’s relentless pressure made the difference. The fight began with a bit of controversy as Beterbiev pushed Gvozdyk to the mat in the first round, which was initially ruled a knockdown before being overturned after a video review. In the second round, Beterbiev rocked Gvozdyk with a right hand, but the Ukrainian bounced back in the fourth round with a strong combination that forced Beterbiev to the ropes. The sixth round saw more back-and-forth action, and Gvozdyk was able to land clean body shots before getting stunned by a right hand late in the round. Beterbiev took control in the later rounds, particularly the ninth, where he landed several heavy blows that had Gvozdyk in trouble. By the 10th round, Beterbiev’s onslaught culminated in three knockdowns, with the referee stopping the fight at 2:49 of the round. Beterbiev, who was making his third title defense, maintained his perfect knockout record, while Gvozdyk, in his second title defense, was sent to the hospital for precautionary reasons. According to CompuBox, Beterbiev landed 31% of his punches (161 of 515), while Gvozdyk connected on 19% (118 of 614). Beterbiev expressed interest in further unifying the division, though his next fight will likely be a mandatory defense against Meng Fanlong of China. “I want the mandatory first, then more unifications,“ Beterbiev said. “It doesn't matter who I fight next. I’m focused on titles, not names.“
