Dmitry Bivol has not been impressed by the WBC’s ban on Russian and Belarusian boxers from competing for its title.
The ban was imposed in response to Russia’s ongoing war in Ukraine. While that may be the case, Bivol is still being impacted because he is a Kyrgyzstani-born Russian.
He is the current WBA light-heavyweight champion, with ambitions of becoming undisputed by facing Artur Beterbiev for all the belts.
The latter is Russian, but the unified champion has been living in Canada for over the last decade.
Dmitry Bivol Shakes Head at WBC Not Sanctioning Fights With Russian Boxers https://t.co/iQIcIv3bgk pic.twitter.com/MDsQ0Uj2y2
— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) June 13, 2023
In response, Mauricio Sulaiman of the WBC has stated that a fight between Beterbiev and Bivol won’t happen in a normal capacity until the war is over.
Although a fight is still capable of going ahead, the WBC belt would not be on the line, which has frustrated Bivol.
“Of course it’s not fair. How could [someone] say, ‘I am the champion of the world,’ if somebody from some country couldn’t fight for your belt? But this guy could be better than you.
“It’s not fair. And this guy is just training, spending his time in the gym, and he’s not allowed to fight. He’s the same [as] you, he’s just living in a different apartment in a different place, but he’s working the same [as] you.
“He’s training, he’s fighting, his mentality is similar, but why is he not allowed to fight? It’s not fair,” Bivol
And this was the sentiment being expressed on social media.
Social Media Reaction
WBC = organized crime
— Comedy is now legal (@EquityL) June 13, 2023
The #WBC always getting in politics and want to stick there nose in everything pic.twitter.com/gTMLtHGQfX
— William Boxing🥊 🇲🇽 🇵🇷 🇺🇸 (@boxing_william) June 13, 2023
Only way for wbc to change is if the big named fighters take a stand against them
— Wesley Pipes (@BigDBanditt) June 13, 2023