Undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev has been ordered by the IBF to next defend against his mandatory Michael Eifert (13-1, 5 KOs) of Germany.
This move by the International Boxing Federation could potentially stand in the way of a rematch between Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KOs) and Dmitri Bivol. If Beterbiev chooses to retain his four-belt undisputed championship, he will next have to defend against the 26-year-old Eifert.
Keith Idec reports that the IBF ordered the Beterbiev vs Eifert fight. The IBF’s move will not make Team Bivol happy, as they petitioned the four sanctioning bodies on Wednesday to have an immediate rematch with Beterbiev, arguing that many viewers saw Dmitry as the winner of their fight last Saturday night, October 12 have.
This is not a fight that fans will want to see. Eifert is an unknown to most fans, and there would be little interest in a clash between him and Beterbiev.
It is unknown whether Beterbiev will vacate his IBF title or look to give Eifert a one-sided payment to move him out of the way for Artur’s rematch with Bivol (23-1, 12 KOs).
Eifert’s best career win came against 40-year-old Jean Pascal, who won a 12-round unanimous decision last year on March 16, 2023. Former WBA and WBC light heavyweight champion Pascal was nowhere near the top of his game in that not fight
The IBF of course gave Eifert his mandatory spot based on his win over Pascal, but that win wasn’t big because of his advanced age. It would have made more sense for the IBF to order a fight between Eifert and Anthony Yarde for a title eliminator rather than having Pascal as the guy.
In 2020, Eifert suffered his only career loss, losing by an eight-round majority decision to Tom Dzemski. A year later, Eifert avenged the loss, beating Dzemski by a 10-round majority decision.
Last updated on 17/10/2024
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