Dmitry Bivol says he is unsure whether he will leave the light heavyweight division if he achieves his goal of defeating unified three-belt champion Artur Beterbiev to become the undisputed champion 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’ champion David Morrell. These will be great fights for the fans and will bring in good money for Bivol. Both guys have power, and there’s a good chance Bivol could be knocked out by either of them.
If Bivol (23-0, 12 KOs) does not choose to stay at 175 to defend his four belts against Canelo Alvarez in a rematch, he could move up to cruiserweight to challenge IBF champion Jai Opetaia for his belt . His Excellency Turki Alalshikh may be interested in making a fight between the two.
We don’t know how good Bivol is because he hasn’t fought one of the killers at 175, and he’s looked beatable when facing guys with power. Will he respond well to being hit repeatedly by Beterbiev or fall apart and crumble?
Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) could spoil Bivol’s big fight hopes by knocking him out on Saturday night. This will change the dynamic for some of the possible fights because Canelo has no interest in fighting Beterbiev, and it’s understandable why.
Beterbiev will be more of a problem for Opetaia because the Australian doesn’t respond well to being hit hard, and he has no inside game to speak of. Turki loves Opetaia, and it wouldn’t be good for his career to fight Beterbiev and possibly get knocked out. This might permanently reduce Opetaia’s popularity.
“For me, belts are very important, more than anything, because I didn’t have these belts. Maybe I’ll change my mind when I have these belts,” Bivol told the Stampede groundsabout how he sees the world titles as the most important thing for him in his boxing career. “Ever since I got into boxing, I wanted all the collections of all the belts.”
If Bivol does win, it doesn’t mean there are no goals for him, as there could be a rematch with Beterbiev. It will interest many fans. Additionally, there are contenders such as David Benavidez, David Morrell, Joshua Buatsi and Anthony Yarde looking for a title shot against him.
“I haven’t thought too much about what’s going on after this fight,” Bivol said when asked if he could move to another division if he defeats Artur Beterbiev to become undisputed champion at 175.
“I have 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 couldn’t have this luck, but I got this fight,” said Dmitry Bivol Boxing King Media about being given the opportunity to fight for the undisputed light heavyweight championship against Artur Beterbiev.
“I want to make history with my coach,” said Bivol.
Keep working 👊🏻
📸 @Maudsakri @turk_alalshikh | @RiyadhSeason | #riyadhseason | #BeterbievBivol pic.twitter.com/lnDhLy7QCt
— Artur Beterbiev (@ABeterbiev) October 7, 2024
