Eddie Hearn has quashed false reports that Dmitry Bivol vs. Joshua Buatsi is a done deal. Hearn says it’s NOT a done deal, and it’s unknown at this point who the unbeaten WBA light heavyweight champion Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs) will be fighting next.
Although Hearn would like to match Bivol against Buatsi (16-0, 13 KOs), given that the 2016 British Olympian is one of his fighters on his Matchroom Boxing stable, unfortunately, Dmitry could face IBF, WBC & WBO 175-lb champion Artur Beterbiev or Canelo Alvarez next.
Obviously, the importance of a fight for Bivol against the 29-year-old Buatsi is relatively low, as that’s a fight that would attract scant interest from boxing fans worldwide.
Even in the UK, Bivol-Buatsi wouldn’t be huge compared to Bivol fighting Beterbiev or Canelo. Buatsi has a few British fans, but he’s not a star, and he doesn’t often fight enough for him to have built a fan base. U.S. fans wouldn’t be interested in watching Bivol face Buatsi.
So unless Hearn can persuade Bivol to do him a favor and fight the little known Buatsi, that fight probably won’t happen until the World Boxing Association orders it, and there’s no telling how long that’ll take. Who knows?
Bivol might lose his WBA title in his undisputed clash against Beterbiev, which would mean that he would be the one that would need to eventually face Buatsi once the fight is ordered.
“I keep hearing reports that it’s signed. I don’t know where it’s coming from. It’s not signed,” said Eddie Hearn to Boxing King Media on whether the Dmitry Bivol vs. Joshua Buatsi fight has been made.
“It’s a fight I’d love to make, but we’re also talking about Bivol-Beterbiev. We’re talking about Bivol-Canelo Alvarez, so we’ll have to see. If I can make the Bivol-Buatsi fight, I’d love to, but a long way to go,” said Hearn.
Again, Bivol can make a lot more money fighting Beterbiev or Canelo than he can Buatsi, and he’d have to want to do Hearn a huge favor to forgo those fights in favor of him.
Canelo is fighting John Ryder on May 6th, and if he wins that match, he’s expected to fight Bivol next.
Beterbiev could potentially be available in the summer for Bivol to fight; that might be the direction Bivol goes in because he wants to compete for the undisputed championship.