Dmitry Bivol’s most likely next fight is revealed.
On Saturday, Dmitry Bivol returned to the ring for the first time since February of last year. And as expected, he dominated IBF mandatory Michael Eifert to retain his unified championship and reaffirm his position as one of the best pound-for-pound fighters in boxing.
The light-heavyweight master was making his return to his native Russia for the first time since 2021, and he put on a typically wondrous showing of technical ability in front of his people to emerge victorious.
Immediately, of course, talk turned to what he would do next. And when it comes to just who Bivol could potentially face, there is no shortage of options.
Many in the boxing world have been crying out for a trilogy with Artur Beterbiev, while others would like to see a massive showdown with David Benavidez. But at the same time, the WBO have made it clear that they will be enforcing Callum Smith as mandatory challenger.
So, which is most likely to happen? Well, it would appear to be the first of the three listed.
Speaking on his YouTube channel, journalist Sean Zittel stated, “I was told that Beterbiev and Bivol will likely push through with a trilogy in Russia–without Turki’s [Turki Alalshikh’s] involvement, without Saudi funding–that’ll be done by Umar Kremlev [president of the IBA] and the Russian Boxing Federation that runs AIBA [IBA].”
Furthermore, Zittel said, “So, with Jose Benavidez Sr. [David Benavidez’s father] knowin’ this stuff, he’s looking to petition the WBC–which he’s done over the weekend–to get David a WBC cruiserweight title fight, because in Jose’s words, their number one and two options are Bivol for the title and then Beterbiev if they can’t get Bivol. But if they’re fighting each other, then you move on to cruiserweight for the WBC belt [held by Noel Mikaelian].”
With this in mind, it is very likely that Bivol-Beterbiev 3 should be expected next, with it being the first fight between the two outside of Saudi Arabia and to not be for the undisputed championship.
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