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Dmitry Bivol's mission was twofold: retain his light heavyweight world title for the third time and continue to create more demand for a unification fight with main event star Sergey Kovalev. Bivol did the first part with ease as he rolled past Isaac Chilemba on Saturday night in the Kovalev-Eleider “Storm“ Alvarez co-feature at the Mark G. Etess Arena at the newly opened Hard Rock Hotel & Casino. However, although Bivol showed off his superior skills and won in dominant fashion, he did little to create more buzz for a Kovalev fight, even causing fans to boo the lack of action at times during the middle of the tedious fight -- and then he watched as the fight went down the drain when Alvarez knocked Kovalev out in the seventh round of an upset. Still, Bivol won by shutout scores of 120-108 on scorecards from judges Eugene Grant and Ron McNair, and George Hill scored it 116-112. also scored the fight 120-108 for Bivol. The victory was Bivol's second in a row against a well-known contender, as he impressively knocked out Sullivan Barrera in the 12th round on March 3 on another Kovalev-headlined show. The fight with Chilemba was Bivol's third in his past four bouts to come on a Kovalev undercard, as their seemingly inevitable showdown drew closer until the shocker in the main event. The Kovalev camp said repeatedly they want the fight, whereas Bivol and his team felt he needed a little more experience and exposure. “Chilemba is a good fighter and he had champion spirit tonight,“ Bivol said. “He is a strong fighter. I want to fight more good fighters. I don't know who my next opponent will be.“ Bivol (14-0, 11 KOs), 27, of Russia, attacked Chilemba from the outset, driving him back with right hands and body shots. Chilemba (25-6-2, 10 KOs), 31, a Malawi native fighting out of South Africa who is trained by all-time great Roy Jones Jr., had little to offer except the occasional hook and jab that was short of its target. But Bivol, who is very composed and deliberate, didn't keep up the fast pace, although he consistently scored with his jab and combinations to pile up points. Though Bivol was in command all the way, he never stepped on the gas in an effort to get rid of Chilemba, who was outclassed. There were a few good exchanges, including in the ninth round and 10th rounds, but they were few and far between. According to CompuBox punch statistics, Bivol landed 154 of 447 shots (35 percent) and Chilemba landed 73 of 472 (16 percent). Chilemba dropped to 1-4 in his past five fights, albeit each loss to a top opponent in Bivol, Alvarez, Kovalev and Oleksandr Gvozdyk. He is also 0-2 in world title fights, having lost a decision to Kovalev in 2016.
