Dmitry Bivol demonstrated the reason why he is the World Boxing Association (WBA) Light Heavyweight Champion. The Russian made the first defense of his belt against Cuban Sullivan Barrera and found a knockout in round 12 to retain his belt at the Madison Square Garden in New York.

Bivol showed his strength from the start with a constant attack against Barrera, who always kept boxing backwards. The champion chased the Cuban from the first round and had the patience to hit good punches despite the mobility of the challenger.

The work with the one-two was key for Bivol, who never neglected his defense even though he was throwing many punches in the fight. In the final round, the champion connected a straight right over Barrera’s face, who could not recover from the blow and, thus, was awarded the technical knockout.

Bivol left his record at 13 victories, 0 losses and 11 knockouts, while Barrera left a record of 21 wins, 2 losses and 14 knockouts.