Dmitry Bivol been become frustrated by the lack of opponents available for him.
Bivol’s last fight was a unanimous win over Zurdo Ramirez in November 2022 to retain his WBA light-heavyweight title.
However, finding an opponent since then has not been easy due to a variety of factors.
A rematch with Canelo Alvarez does not appear to be happening, as Bivol has made it clear that a fight at 168 lbs for the Mexican’s undisputed titles makes more sense. Meanwhile, Canelo is seeking to avenge his loss on the same terms.
In addition, an undisputed fight with Artur Beterbiev has been ruled out because of the WBC’s stance on Russian and Belarusian fighters due to the ongoing conflict in Ukraine, which means that the WBC belt would not be on the line.
"IT’S NOT FAIR‼️”
😡😤 @bivol_d RAGES at WBC, Canelo Mixing Politics With Sport.
Watch the full interview HERE ➡️ https://t.co/cy5nByL548#Bivol #BoxingWorld #BoxingHype #boxing #boxingnews #canelo pic.twitter.com/9pyUdqC44t
— Radio Rahim🎤 (@RadioRahimTV) June 12, 2023
In response, Eddie Hearn was hopeful that Bivol could face Anthony Yarde or Dan Azeez.
While Yarde has failed twice in his attempts to win a world title, he has shown courage and gained respect in his defeats to Sergey Kovalev and Beterbiev.
Azeez, on the other hand, is yet to suffer a loss, with 19 wins and 13 KOs under his belt, as the Brit rises up the pecking order.
And yet, the WBA has confirmed that Joshua Buatsi will face Azeez on August 19th, 2023, for a final eliminator to face Bivol
CONFIRMED ✅
The WBA has revealed that Joshua Buatsi will fight fellow undefeated Brit Dan Azeez in a final eliminator for Dmitry Bivol's world title on August 19th 🥊
Who wins? 🤔#BuatsiAzeez | #BoxingNews pic.twitter.com/TbCQY3pkYR
— IFL TV (@IFLTV) June 22, 2023
As such, Bivol let it be known that he was frustrated.
“It looks funny because [Canadian citizen] Beterbiev is Russian too. I was born in Kyrgyzstan; I spent almost half of my life there.
“If I was born there, I could go anytime and get my passport. What’s the problem? I think there’s some other reason [they’re saying that]. I don’t know what it is, but it’s not the main problem keeping us from making the fight.
Politics and sports are two different things. I hope one day it will be really clean – sports will be separated from politics. I really hope.
“Because all my life I’ve spent it boxing – I spent all my life in the boxing gym, and I just want to fight. I want to show people that you can achieve something if you work hard. Even if you come from a small city, you could be someone,” Bivol
Those frustrations were reflected on social media, with the boxing community demanding that politics be separated from the sport.
Social Media Response
Its literally a political issue but keep reaching. They support ukraine in the war. Yall reaching lol
— B G 🇺🇸 🇲🇽 🇸🇻 #️⃣#️⃣⭕ (@Booby707) June 15, 2023
I think it’s more about Russia but possible
— DON 🌍☄️ (@Donboxin) June 15, 2023
It's a shame.
— Ekow Asmah Sports (@ekowasmahsports) June 15, 2023