That was never more evident than on February 22 in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, when pound-for-pound boxers Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev met in a rematch for the undisputed light heavyweight crown.
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For a long time it was believed that Bivol vs. Beterbiev was one of the best fights in all of boxing, so when the sport finally achieved it in October 2024, all eyes in the boxing world fell on the city of Riyadh to witness the expected greatness. The pair had an excellent first fight, which was contested at the highest level the sport could offer, but that wasn’t what left people talking. That night, Beterbiev was crowned undisputed champion by majority decision, but ironically, his claim to be the best light heavyweight in the world was still very much in dispute.
Although two judges believed Beterbiev did enough to raise his hand, many within the fight game did not share that belief. It was by no means a steal, but many observers thought Bivol had done enough to earn a narrow victory. Turki Alalshikh, who was financing the fight through his company Riyadh Season, also did not agree with the cards, so an immediate rematch took place.
Bivol and Beterbiev didn’t have the spotlight to themselves either. Their second match was the main event of a card that many believed was boxing’s best in more than two decades. Callum Smith and Joshua Buatsi opened the night (yes, you read that right) in a fight of the year contender for the WBO interim light heavyweight title. Zhilei Zhang and Agit Kabayel traded falls, Hamzah Sheeraz vs. Carlos Adames had controversy, Vegil Ortiz Jr. scored the best win of his career and Joseph Parker made light work of late replacement Martin Bakole. It was a tremendous night of action, and the pressure mounted on today’s greats, Bivol and Beterbiev, culminating in one of the best fights in recent memory.
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They definitely did not disappoint.
Bivol started the process behind his precise jab, one of the best in all of boxing, and managed to land eye-catching flurries to increase his tally in the early rounds, just as he did in the first fight.
In their opening meeting, Beterbiev looked strong from the sixth round onwards, but in the rematch, Beterbiev’s forward pressure and powerful punches began to gain frames around the fourth. Beterbiev continued to get stronger: he was the more active fighter, which worried Bivol with his relentless aggression and the force of his punches. By the seventh round, Beterbiev was not only in front, but the momentum was firmly in his favor.
At the time, it seemed like Bivol was a long way from winning the rematch, and that Beterbiev would have his night again, but then Bivol did what only great champions can do. He made adjustments to turn the tide, using his footwork to evade Beterbiev’s pressure and combining punches to assert himself in the contest. Suddenly, Bivol became a difficult target for Beterbiev to find. Beterbiev tried to reduce the distance, but fell victim to Bivol’s precise bursts of four to five blows.
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Bivol’s second wind came at the perfect time. Just as he was starting to get back into the fight, Beterbiev started to slow down. Bivol controlled the fight from rounds 8-11, and although Beterbiev got the better of the 12th, it wasn’t enough to keep his belts. This time, the judges got it right and Bivol was crowned undisputed champion in a tremendous battle that epitomized the sweet science of boxing.
The pair were supposed to collide in a trilogy in the second half of 2025, but it has yet to materialize. Bivol appears to be heading toward a mandatory IBF title defense against Michael Eifert in the spring of 2026, with hopes of a third fight against Beterbiev by the summer.
(SOPA Images via Getty Images)
2. Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn 1
Fight fans could sense that Chris Eubank Jr. vs. Conor Benn was going to be a special night for British boxing long before a single punch was thrown.
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It was a fight that had been brewing for almost three years. Failed drug tests, slaps, and vocal protests from Chris Eubank Sr. were some of the many obstacles we were forced to overcome. When fight day finally arrived, boxing fans hoped that after all the wait for the second-generation clash, it would live up to the hype.
It ended up delivering drama sooner than anyone expected. A cacophony of noise accompanied Eubank Sr.’s shocking arrival at the venue just a couple of hours before the main event. Eubank Sr., a British boxing legend, claimed throughout the lead-up that he would not be present at the fight, declaring it a mockery of the sport, but in true Eubank fashion, when there was a camera there, so was he.
The stage was officially set for a historic battle, and Eubank Jr. and Benn knew better than to let their family names down. Benn put pressure on the much larger and technically more savvy Eubank for 36 minutes. It was a strategy that used the heart over the head. He faced many blows from Eubank, but was content to do so in the hope of landing a big blow of his own.
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Benn scored the first breakthrough in the fight, rocking Eubank in the third round with a left hook. Eubank boxed the first half of the contest on his back foot and from Round 7 onwards began taking on Benn head-on for exchanges, using his size and power advantages. Benn’s knees were buckled by a hook from Eubank in the eighth round, and he absorbed plenty of punishment in a thrilling 12th round at London’s Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
After 36 minutes, Eubank was declared the winner, but both men’s stocks rose that night. Benn’s bullish approach was the reason the fight was so brilliant, but in the rematch he was much smarter and the result was to batch different.
3. Abdullah Mason vs. Sam Noakes
When two young, undefeated, talented fighters risk everything in their bid for a first world title, how can it not produce something brilliant?
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Abdullah Mason was considered one of the hottest prospects in boxing at the time, but if you had asked Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions, they would have said the same thing about their man, Sam Noakes. Noakes’ chances were criminally underrated heading into the November showdown, and although he didn’t win, he walked away with the credit of being considered a legitimate contender at 135 pounds.
Mason outpointed Noakes in an action-packed fight over 12 rounds at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Noakes forced Mason to exchange with him closely and, over the 36 minutes, Mason showed that he has the heart of a champion. It was a fight full of ebbs and flows, where neither could get ahead of the other. Mason hurt Noakes with a body shot in Round 10, but Noakes bit down on his mouthpiece to survive the round and enjoyed success in the penultimate frame.
Mason became the youngest reigning men’s world boxing champion, but he had to do it as soon as possible. hard shape.
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4. Naoya Inoue against Ramón Cárdenas
Naoya Inoue hadn’t left his native Japan for a fight since June 2021, and when he faced Michael Dasmarinas that night four years ago, it was in front of a limited crowd due to COVID restrictions still in place at the time. So in truth, Inoue hadn’t fought in front of a proper international crowd since May 2019, and not in the US since September 2017.
But a lot has changed for Inoue in recent years, especially his fan base. Inoue is no longer an unknown fighter in 2025: he is a star. When he returned to the United States in May, he did so against the little-known Ramón Cárdenas at the 20,000-seat T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. It was unheard of for a fighter of Inoue’s weight to headline such an event, let alone a Japanese fighter who hadn’t fought in front of a crowd on American soil in eight years.
Inoue was a megastar in Japan, but here was his chance to demonstrate his ability to a mass audience in America. Cardenas was a little-known fighter who was expected to be a comfortable night’s work for Inoue. But he was none of that.
Having become accustomed to knocking out outmatched opponents in short order, Inoue lunged for the goal at the first possible opportunity, and then Cardenas shocked the boxing world and floored the careless champion in the second round with a counter left.
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What followed was a tremendous back and forth fight. Inoue had to remain alert against Cárdenas at all times. It was fun to see a wrestler really test Inoue and make him think. Inoue, being the big guy that he is, rebounded to take down Cardenas, flooring the challenger in Round 7 and finally stopping him in the next frame.
5. Kenshiro Teraji vs. Sergio Yuri Akui
Kenshiro Teraji was down two scorecards heading into the final round of his unification fight against Sergio Yuri Akui in March at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo, Japan. I knew it would take something dramatic to turn things around in the final three minutes.
So it seemed like Teraji made a conscious decision heading into Round 12: if he was going to lose his belt, he’d rather come out swinging. After 11 big rounds, Teraji had one last gear left, while Akui was running out of fuel. He dropped Akui in the final frame with a relentless effort, going for a knockout, and managed to force a stoppage with just 89 seconds left in the historic all-Japanese unification.
Breakdown of Uncrowned voting for Brawl 2025:
(Hassan Ahmad, Yahoo Sports)
Honorable Mentions:
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Fabio Wardley vs. Justis Huni
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Isaac Cruz vs. Ángel Fierro
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Callum Smith vs. Joshua Buatsi
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Eduardo “Sugar” Núñez against Christopher Díaz
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