The WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol is focused on becoming the undisputed champion.
The Russian will make his comeback after beating Zurdo Ramirez last year to take on Lyndon Arthur. A win would set up a potential fight against either Artur Beterbiev or Callum Smith as the latter two face each other on January 13th, 2024. Beterbiev, the holder of the WBO, WBC and IBF belts is expected to come out victorious. That would set up an all-Russian clash for undisputed, something which Saudi Arabia is reportedly interested in doing. And by the looks of it, Bivol is on board with those plans.
“Of course, it’s not the next fight. I wanted it before. It’s not right to talk about Beterbiev or Smith because right now, I have an opponent. It’s disrespect to Lyndon and disrespect to myself to look behind his back. When you’re going in the ring, you have to focus on your opponent only. Just you and your opponent.
“I see Beterbiev as a good favorite in this fight, but, of course, it’s not an easy fight. Smith is a good fighter. Yeah, I think he wants it because he talked about it many times,” said Bivol when asked if he believed Beterbiev wanted to face him. He wants it, of course, because he’s in boxing to achieve something big. He’s a good fighter, a good athlete. Of course, he wants.” Bivol
But in order to do that, there has to be a change in the WBC’s ruling that prevents Russian boxers from competing for their belt due to the war in Ukraine. President Mauricio Sulaiman has revealed that Bivol does have a right to appeal in that regard, which could come into play if an offer is made for that fight. And that is the fight that boxing fans will want to see.