IBF light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev (15-0, 15 KO) utilized a vicious body attack to wear down and defeat previously unbeaten WBC champion Oleksandr Gvozdyk (17-1, 14 KO) in the 10th round on October 18 in their unification match at the Liacouras Center on the campus of Temple University in Philadelphia. Gvozdyk more than held his own in the first five rounds before Beterbiev began wearing him down with his punishing shots, non-stop pressure and body attack.
It had been a close, competitive and exciting bout until Beterbiev steadily broke Gvozdyk down to unify two 175-pound title belts and claim the lineal title in the main event at the Top Rank Boxing on ESPN card before 3,283 fans – many of them Ukrainians.
This was the first ever light heavyweight world title unification fight between undefeated titleholders.