Bivol has three mandatory challengers waiting for his remaining titles. He gave up his WBC when he had David Benavidez as the mandatory for that belt. It’s understandable why Bivol chose to give up the title. It would have been a hard fight for him.
Bivol’s three commitments
- Michael Eifert – IBF
- David Benavidez – WBA
- Callum Smith – WBO
The WBO situation is still ongoing as interim champion Smith next ordered a defense against David Morrell. The winner of that fight will be the WBO Mandatory.
Why make a mandatory sense for the return
IBF mandatory, Michael Eifert, has not beaten any significant opposition during his seven-year professional career, for him to be in the position as Bivol’s mandatory. If this is Bivol’s next fight in mandatory, it will be like a tune-up level fight.
Given that Dmitry will be returning from back surgery and a 13-month layoff, Eifert will be the ideal fit to facilitate his return. It would be riskier if Bivol comes off the layoff and fights Artur Beterbiev in their trilogy.
“The first fight back could be a smaller fight than (the Artur Beterbiev trilogy), maybe one of his mandatory defenses,” promoter said Eddie Hearn about Dmitri Bivol’s next fight in 2026.
Bivol cannot afford to give up any more titles because that is what validates him now. Many fans consider David Benavidez to be the top fighter in the division. However, Bivol holds all those titles, and that gives him credibility.
“He’s got quite a few of them. One is Callum Smith, one is Michael Eifert, WBA, I think there’s a mandatory as well. He would have been out of the ring – he won’t fight until March – so he would have been out of the ring for a year and would have had a couple of surgeries,” Hearn says.
Hearn is promoting Callum Smith but he can’t push that he’s next for Bivol until he faces David Morrell.
