The judges scored the fight 114-114, 115-113, and 116-112 in favor of Beterbiev. The 39-year-old champ's strategy of constant pressure and pinning his opponent down paid off against Bivol's elusive style and blistering combinations.
Fans and top-level fighters didn't agree with the decision. Many felt Bivol did more than enough to win the extremely close fight. Eddie Hearn, Bivol's promoter, called it a robbery.
Famed trainer and analyst Teddy Atlas saw it differently. He scored the fight 115-113 for Beterbiev. Atlas explained his reasoning to Fight Hub TV:
"Close fight. Lot of close rounds. I can see why [people] are conflicted. I had it 115-113 Beterbiev, yeah, because I thought he won the championship rounds."
Atlas pointed out that Beterbiev controlled the geography of the ring slightly more and made Bivol fight his fight. He also noted Beterbiev's constant pressure and strong finishes in rounds.
"You want to see what Beterbiev is? Go put a pot of boiling water on your stove and watch the water boil. Leave for a half hour, come back there's nothing in the pot. That's Beterbiev. It don't look like nothing's happening, but something's happening. He's boiling you down."
Atlas described how Beterbiev capitalized on Bivol's mistakes:
"[Bivol] threw one too many. Bang, he got caught. And then Beterbiev does what he does. What did he do at the end? He closes the show."
The possibility of a rematch remains open, given the closeness of the fight and the controversy surrounding the decision.