#春日生活打卡季#
This morning, there was the unfortunate news that the unifying battle between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, scheduled for June 1 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, has been officially cancelled. The reason for the cancellation of this match was a serious injury suffered by Artur Beterbiev during pre-match training.
The news of the cancellation of the tournament has been confirmed by the heads of the tournament organizers, Turki Arashik and Artur Beterbiev, in conjunction with the event promotion company Top Rank. According to internal sources, Artur Beterbiev's meniscus was badly torn during pre-match training and he was unable to continue playing.
According to the original plan, Artur Betbiev and Dmitry Bivol will play in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in what will be the main match of the day. The rest of the day's bouts will be between fighters from Arena Boxing Promotion against fighters from Kunsbury Boxing Promotion. Now, the main event of the day is gone.
Artur Beterbiev is considered the undisputed hegemon of the light heavyweight division today, holding the WBC, WBO and IBF Light Heavyweight World Titles, and he has knocked out all 20 fighters he has faced, and he has never heard the bell ring at the end of twelve rounds. Given the contrast between his and Dmitry Bivol's style of play, the bout is considered a rare collision of strength and skill in recent years in professional boxing.
As the tournament operator and key figure in the match-up between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol, Turki Arashk has repeatedly stressed on his media that the match will not be cancelled entirely, but will be postponed until later this year.
"First of all, I wish my brother Artur Beterbiev a speedy recovery. Although there are some regrets, the other matches on June 1 will continue as usual. Turki Arashk posted.
Top Rank also confirmed the news on its official website, saying that it would reschedule the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol match to take place later this year, adding that more details will be announced later.
The 39-year-old Artur Beterbiev was as brutal as ever in his win over Callum Smith in January, but he did suffer multiple injuries in recent years and his form has been worse than one year after year. Perhaps, the match against Dmitry Bivol will be the curtain call for the Russian veteran. I hope that before the end of this year, I can witness this "Russian Civil War" in the professional boxing ring.