Dmitry Bivol, Gilberto Ramirez Agree To Fight In November

The purse bid between Dmitry Bivol and Gilberto Ramirez has been called off — because they came to an agreement.

Bivol will defend his WBA light heavyweight belt against Ramirez on November 5 in the United Arab Emirates, the organization announced.

The purse bid was scheduled for August 21 to determine promotional rights, but that was deemed unnecessary after the two parties came to an agreement.

Bivol and his promoter Eddie Hearn previously tried to escape the WBA-ordered fight by petitioning for a request to skip Ramirez and instead face Joshua Buatsi. They were denied.

“The last time a mandatory fight was held in the 175-pound division was in March 2018, so the lapse is expired for the champion and he must face the mandatory challenger as established by the rules,” Carlos Chavez, chairman of the WBA Championship Committee, told Boxing Scene.

Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) called for a shot at unified light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev – who had taken down Joe Smith Jr – but that didn’t happen either. Beterbiev was recently forced to postpone his defense after sustaining an undisclosed injury.

Bivol last fought in his career-best win against undisputed super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez. Alvarez jumped two divisions in order to capture another division title, but he came up short and was outboxed by Bivol.

Ramirez (44-0, 30 KOs) has yet to taste defeat. He is a former super middleweight champion – becoming the first Mexican to do so, before Alvarez.

Ramirez sealed his mandatory shot by knocking out Dominic Boesel on May 14.