Patience.

It’s not the first word that comes to mind when describing a fighter who—until his most recent bout—had knocked out every opponent he’d faced.

For Artur Beterbiev, patience has defined his 175-pound championship reign. He remained confident during every day of his seven-year title reign that there would come a time when he owned every piece of relevant hardware at light heavyweight.

That moment arrived on Oct. 12, when he edged Dmitry Bivol to win the RING championship and fully unify the 175-pound division.

“When I first won the IBF belt, this dream has always been with me,” Beterbiev told The Ring. “I always remained confident that this day was coming.

“Now it’s happened a couple of days ago and I am very happy.”

It was evident in his jubilant yet humble expression when he was announced as a majority decision winner at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Beterbiev (21-0, 20 knockouts) went the distance for the first time in his career. He expected this day to eventually come, even though he previously always avoided going to the scorecards.

Against Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs), it was expected that Beterbiev would have to pull out some new tricks. Both were unbeaten, universally regarded as the two best light heavyweights in the world and among the sport’s pound-for-pound best.

Beterbiev never expects to steamroll his opponents, even though it’s occurred on a number of occasions during his lengthy reign. He will always be the physically stronger fighter no matter who he faces at or near light heavyweight. Bivol did pose a size advantage and—on paper—was regarded as the better pure boxer.

It remains up for debate as to whether that last part still rings true after twelve championship rounds. At the very least, Beterbiev answered a lot of question as to how he would react when his opponent refused to fall.

“I was happy this fight went twelve rounds,” insisted Beterbiev. “Because I got to prove that I just don’t go look for the knockout. It’s always the same every fight. If it happens, it’s fine.

“If not, we showed we box well for twelve rounds and can win that way, too.”

Beterbiev had to box—and fight—for all twelve rounds to earn what is the biggest win of his storied yet frustrating career.

Bivol was able to jump out to an early lead. Furthermore, he was ahead on all three scorecards after nine rounds.

A lot has been made of the advice that came out of Beterbiev’s corner prior to the start of the eleventh round. Renowned head trainer Marc Ramsay informed his charge that he needed a knockout to win.

That sense of urgency is not uncommon in any world class corner. Hall of Fame, multi-time Trainer of the Year Freddie Roach often calls for his charge to “put ’em on his ass” ahead of the final round. Most elite trainers know how to get the most out of their fighter in a tight situation.

That is what took place in the Beterbiev corner. The world class fighter that he is, the 39-year-old crushing Russian responded in kind.

“I didn’t think I was losing but I wasn’t thinking about the scores,” Beterbiev admitted. “I was more focused on the fight. Those last few rounds, I pushed myself to the limit. To be honest, you should always have enough energy to finish the fight in those two rounds, three rounds. It is important that when the fight is over, you have no more energy.

“You give it your all in those last rounds. I did that when my corner told me to win. They always tell me I need a knockout. I knew that meant to win the rest of the fight and be out of energy by the end. You don’t need that energy after the 12^th round. You need it to win the fight.”

Fittingly, the closest Beterbiev came to ever going the distance as a pro was in his first title win.

Enrico Koelling was hopelessly outclassed in their Nov. 2017 IBF light heavyweight title fight in Fresno, California. However, the German contender saw daylight as the bell sounded to begin the 12th and final round.

Beterbiev knew his opponent only came to survive rather than to win the title at stake. He put an end to that with two knockdowns to force the stoppage with just 37 seconds left on the night.

The bout itself marked an end of a ten-plus month layoff as Beterbiev recovered from shoulder surgery. The 2008 and 2012 Russian Olympian only fought his 12th pro fight through more than four years as a pro as he contested for his first major title.

Injuries, illnesses and a global pandemic would further stall his momentum. Beterbiev has fought just nine times since he initially claimed the IBF strap.

The key was to make it count whenever he made his way to the ring. He did so versus then-unbeaten lineal/WBC champ Oleksandr Gvozdyk in their Oct. 2019 lineal/WBC/IBF unification bout. Beterbiev trailed on two of three scorecards after nine rounds before he stopped Gvozdyk in the tenth.

It was his finest hour as a pro, but also his last for another 17 months. The pandemic and a series of delays stalled his IBF-ordered mandatory title defense which even saw an opponent switch. He finally resumed his career in March 2021. Two fights later, Beterbiev added the WBO belt to his collection.

Three bouts later, Beterbiev left boxing’s newest hotbed as the undisputed king of the light heavyweight division.

“Unfortunately, injuries are a part of the sport. Delays are part of the sport,” noted Beterbiev. “All these different things are put in our path for a reason.

“In the end, it produced something very good. I always remained in shape and patient for this moment in my career to arrive.”

Even this moment was met with a four-month postponement as Beterbiev recovered from a knee injury and subsequent surgery. He and Bivol were due to meet in June, even then in a fight that most thought was never possible prior to 2024.

That dynamic changed with the emergence of Turki Alalshikh and the Riyadh Season group, which has invested heavily into the sport. More so, the team has made an aggressive push to secure championship fights at the absolute highest level.

Without this current movement, the light heavyweight division remains splintered for 22 years and counting.

With it, Beterbiev was not only put in a position to succeed, but in a land where he could fully embrace his faith shortly after his career-defining victory.

“Yes, it made this moment a little more special. Islam is a big part of the culture in Saudi Arabia,” stated Beterbiev, a devout Muslim. “But I am true to my faith no matter where I am in the world.

“It made it a little different to win it here but the goal was always to win the undisputed championship anywhere this fight took place.”

Fittingly, the road to undisputed came versus an opponent who waited for this moment as long as he did. Bivol was upgraded to full WBA light heavyweight titlist just one week prior to the start of Beterbiev’s IBF title reign.

“It was always meant to work out like this, [Bivol] and I fighting for everything,” insisted Beterbiev. “I never doubted this day would come. I am grateful to His Excellency (Alalshikh) and those who made it happen. Every step of my career led to this. It was always my destiny.

“My faith that this day would arrive led to what I was able to do in the ring to fulfill my dream.”

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