The WBC ordering IBF/WBC/WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev to defend against mandatory Callum Smith has put a speedbump in the path of the undisputed championship with WBA champ Dmitry Bivol.
Bivol’s manager Vadim Kornilov says ideally, he’d like for the fight Beterbiev undisputed 175-lb championship clash to take place in Saudi Arabia or UAE. That’s where it can make the most amount of money.
Just when that fight can happen is unclear, as Canelo Alvarez and Bivol could meet in September in a rematch. Assuming Bivol wins that one, the Beterbiev-Bivol match would likely happen in the first quarter of 2024.
Callum Smith (29-1, 21 KOs) has quickly earned the WBC mandatory spot, beating Mathieu Bauderlique and Lenin Castillo.
“We were talking about making the fight happen this summer already, and then the [Callum] Smith thing happened, and to be honest with you, it didn’t seem like the finances necessary to make everybody happy and to satisfied, including both sides,” said manager Vadim Kornilov to iD Boxing about the undisputed light heavyweight championship between IBF, WBC & WBO 175-lb champion Artur Beterbiev and WBA champ Dmitry Bivol.
“It’s a 50-50 fight, in my opinion. I know Dmitry wins, but objectively, it’s a 50-50 fight. It has to make sense. Both guys are on the pound-for-pound list, Dmitry and Beterbiev. So it’s two top guys fighting each other, and it really has to be backed up by all the, not only finances but backed up by the fans and the attention.
“I think that’s really just now getting there, and that’s why I think it hasn’t happened yet, but it’s about to. Right now, I think the UAE or the Saudi arenas that have been coming together and bringing a lot of money to put big, big fights together,” said Kornilov when asked where the Beterbiev vs. Bivol fight would need to take place for it to justify the magnitude of the match.
“Those are the options, but even if it had to happen in the United States, even like Madison Square Garden, I think there’s a lot of people there and a lot of boxing fans that really go there for the sport. They go to the arena for the sport, and they go to the arena for an intriguing fight. This is one of those.
“It can happen anywhere, but it’s about the network and the fight being already cooked up enough and boiled up enough for everybody to want to see it.
“He won. You can’t take anything away from him. He’s a very hard punching, aggressive, strong, wins his fights and has fought a lot of guys in the division,” said Kornilov about Beterbiev’s recent eighth-round knockout win over Anthony Yarde last January in London, England.
“The fight was back and forth, which kind of downgrades him [Beterbiev] a little bit, but it doesn’t take away from his victory because everybody has different styles. If he has to do what he had to do to win the fight and win it by knockout, you can’t say he did anything wrong. That’s part of his strategy, and part of his style, and I think that’s how he fights.
“For some guy out there like Dmitry, who is watching and thinking about fighting him, I think it’s good to see that fight or that type of fight and see that type of mistakes that Artur sometimes makes,” said Kornilov.
