This creates a split scenario at 175 pounds. Bivol enters the bout still recognized as WBO champion, but only the WBA and IBF belts, along with The Ring championship, will be contested on fight night.
The move avoids formally removing Bivol as champion, but it limits the fight’s status in terms of full unification recognition. It also leaves the WBO belt in a separate lane depending on what happens after May 30.
If Michael Eifert pulled off a miracle upset, we’d be in a total mess. Eifert would be the WBA/IBF champion, Bivol would still be the WBO champion despite losing his other belts, and the division would be broken again.
Eifert, the mandatory challenger, still gets his title opportunity, though not for all the belts tied to Bivol’s current position in the division.
For Bivol, the lack of a WBO sanctioning fee may actually be a small financial relief, but it certainly eats into the “undisputed” marketing of the event. At 35 and coming off back surgery, his primary goal is likely to clear the IBF hurdle to clear the way for a massive trilogy fight with Artur Beterbiev or a potential clash with David Benavidez later in the year.
The WBO’s decision is basically a political security dance, an attempt to maintain a moral high ground without actually doing the heavy lifting of poaching a world-class champion.
By refusing to approve the fight in Yekaterinburg, but keeping Bivol as champion, they are trying to please two very different masters.
On the one hand, they join the wider Western sports sanctions against Russia; on the other, they avoid the backlash and potential legal mess that would come from stripping a fighter who had just recently solidified his legendary status by beating Artur Beterbiev.
