Dmitry Bivol was left furious and touched heads with Malik Zinad in his fiery win.
Zinad received a unique opportunity at world glory as a huge underdog, after Artur Beterbiev was forced to pull out of his planned undisputed clash with Bivol.
And the fight produced a highlight moment, with the pair touching heads in a fiery exchange at the final bell of the fourth round.
Bivol was clearly frustrated as his rival danced in front of him, and the pair refused to back down before dashing back to their stools.
But he turned up the ante and unloaded with a huge barrage of shots to close the show in the sixth period.
A fight with Beterbiev is now set once again as it was announced in the ring for October 12 by Saudi boxing chief Turki Alalshikh.
Bivol had started at a scintillating pace along with his rival Zinad and scored a huge knockdown in a fast-paced opener.
The Russian was clearly out to make a statement having previously been criticised for his power and stoppage ratio.
A champion was shown in the ring through four as he continued to push the pace of the underdog, but Zinad proved to have serious heart.
The Libyan and Bivol then went head-to-head in a resentful clash at the end of the fourth as both were clearly fired up.
Although in the driving seat, it wasn’t one-way traffic for Bivol who was being forced to bring out his elite movement and punch variation to keep in control.
But in the sixth round, the angry ‘headbutt’ spurred him on and he let his hands go with his rival left helpless.
The referee stepped in as Bivol landed shots at will and handed him a huge statement stoppage in his chase of the undisputed crown.
It was the first stoppage for the 175lbs champion since he defeated Sullivan Barrera in 2018 in a timely boost.
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News Summary:
- Angry Dmitry Bivol knocks out Malik Zinad after heated ‘headbutt’ exchange
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