Dmitry Bivol says he’s unsure if he’ll leave the light heavyweight division if he accomplishes his goal of defeating unified three-belt champion Artur Beterbiev to become the undisputed champ this Saturday night in Riyadh.
Two obvious choices for Bivol would be to stay at light heavyweight and face WBC interim champion David Benavidez or WBA ‘regular’ champ David Morrell. Those would be excellent fights for the fans and would bring in good money for Bivol. Both guys have power, and there’s a good chance Bivol could get knocked out by either.
If Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) doesn’t choose to stay at 175 to defend his four belts against Canelo Alvarez in a rematch, he can move up to cruiserweight to challenge IBF champion Jai Opetaia for his belt. His Excellency Turki Alalshikh could be interested in making a fight between the two.
We don’t know how good Bivol is because he’s not fought any of the killers at 175, and he’s looked beatable when facing guys with power. Will he react well to getting hit repeatedly by Beterbiev or fall apart and crumble?
Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) could spoil Bivol’s hopes for big fights by knocking him out on Saturday night. That would change the dynamics for some of the possible fights because Canelo has no interest in fighting Beterbiev, and it’s understandable why.
Beterbiev would be more of a problem for Opetaia because the Australian doesn’t react well to getting hit hard, and he has no inside game to speak of. Turki is fond of Opetaia, and it wouldn’t be good for his career to fight Beterbiev and potentially get knocked out. That would diminish Opetaia’s popularity, perhaps permanently.
“For me, belts are very important, more than anything, because I didn’t have these belts. Maybe when I have these belts, maybe I’ll change my mind,” said Bivol to the Stomping Grounds, about how he views the world titles as the most important thing to him in his boxing career. “Since I came to boxing, I wanted to have all the collections of all the belts.”
If Bivol does win, it doesn’t mean that there aren’t any goals for him, because there could be a rematch with Beterbiev. That would interest many fans. Moreover, there are contenders like David Benavidez, David Morrell, Joshua Buatsi, and Anthony Yarde who would be looking to get a title shot against him.
“I didn’t think too much about what’s going on after this fight,” said Bivol when asked if he could move to another division if he defeats Artur Beterbiev to become an undisputed champion at 175.
“I need to listen to my body to decide what I want to do next after this fight, and then I can tell you.”
“I feel amazing because I’m going to fight for all the belts, and this chance is not for every fighter. Even good fighters could not have this luck, but I got this fight,” said Dmitry Bivol to Boxing King Media about his getting the opportunity to fight for the undisputed light heavyweight championship against Artur Beterbiev.
“I want to make history with my coach,” said Bivol.
Continue working 👊🏻
📸 @Maudsakri @Turki_alalshikh | @RiyadhSeason | #riyadhseason | #BeterbievBivol pic.twitter.com/lnDhLy7QCt
— Artur Beterbiev (@ABeterbiev) October 7, 2024
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