Dmitry Bivol defended his World Boxing Association (WBA) Light Heavyweight Super Championship with a huge victory over Craig Richards on Saturday at the AO Arena in Manchester, England.

The Kyrgyzstan-born Russian fighter went all the way against a tough opponent and came away with the decision after judges’ scorecards of 118-110, 115-113, and 115-114.

Bivol faced an opponent who was taller than him and he had to adapt little by little. At the beginning it took him a while to get the distance but as the rounds went by he felt more confident and was able to work the Briton better, who showed that he wanted to ruin the champion’s night.

While the Russian went forward and tried to overshadow Richards, the challenger worked intelligently, took advantage of his reach, and threw his jab hard to open Bivol’s guard and connect occasional good rights.

But Bivol knew better, he used his head movement well to dodge him and ended up punishing his opponent with good punches, especially in the second part of the fight when he seemed to be much more comfortable.

The WBA champion remained undefeated in 18 fights, with 11 KOs, while Richards now has a record of 16 wins, 2 losses, 1 draw, and 9 KOs.