Dmitry Bivol said last Saturday night if he can’t fight for another title against three-belt light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev in the next four or five months, he’ll take another fight.
That would mean that Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) could face Canelo Alvarez in a rematch, as that’s the most lucrative fight out there for the WBA light heavyweight champion, and the Mexican star is interested in facing him again.
If Bivol is totally focused on collecting belts for the sake of it, moving down to 168 to battle Canelo for his undisputed championship will allow him to win four straps at once.
Promoter Eddie Hearn brought up the idea of Bivol moving down to 168 to challenge Canelo for his undisputed super middleweight championship if he absolutely must fight for a new belt in his next fight.
With Beterbiev being busy defending against Anthony Yarde in February and then unable to fight due to Ramadan, it means Bivol won’t have the opportunity to battle for a new title at 175 until the summer at the earliest.
Last Saturday night, Bivol beat Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez (44-1, 30 KOs) by a 12 round unanimous decision in Abu Dhabi. Like Bivol’s fight with Canelo, the Ramirez fight was supposed to be competitive, but it quickly turned into a mismatch.
Bivol completely dominated Ramirez, and the three rounds that the Mexican star won, were given to him.
“I proved myself. I can beat the best guy in the world [in Canelo Alvarez],” said Dmitry Bivol following his victory over Gilberto Ramirez last Saturday night.
“It doesn’t depend only on me who I fight next. I want to fight for another belt. If I don’t have this chance in four or five months, I will take another fight,” said Bivol.
“I think there has been three chapters in Dmitry Bivol’s career,” said Chris Mannix to DAZN Boxing. “The first part was the early part was when he looked like a knockout artist. A Russian version of Gennadiy Golovkin when he was fighting on HBO.
“Then there was the kind of malaise in the middle part where he was fighting so-so fights against guys like Craig Richards that he dominates, but really doesn’t destroy like Joe Smith.
“This to me feels like a fighter that is hitting his prime. Like he’s just hitting his stride in the light heavyweight division. Now he goes from being the hunter for so many years to the hunted.
“He’s going to have some options out there. He can have a rematch with Canelo Alvarez. We know Bivol wants Artur Beterbiev in his next fight. Joshua Buatsi is a marketable fight over in the UK. What do you think is next for Bivol?
“If Canelos healthy, you take that fight. That’s a massive fight. You don’t turn down the money for that one. You could do the ffight at 175 and it would still be marketable and it would still be a big fight.
“I do think it adds a layer of intrigue to see Bivol drop down to 168 and fight for all four of Canelo’s belts because that’s legacy-building.
“Whatever Dmitry Bivol does next, it’s going to be a big fight. He has risen to that level
