Dmitry Bivol’s Return Targeted For January, Set to Not Box in 2023
By Eddie Sanchez
In 2023, the reigning Fighter of the Year, Dmitry Bivol, experienced a letdown. He has yet to fight this year and is looking very likely to not fight until 2024.
In the previous year, Bivol had delivered unforgettable performances, decisively besting both Canelo Alvarez and Gilberto Ramirez, cementing his status as the WBA light heavyweight champion. However, in this current year, the champ found himself caught in the grip of inactivity.
Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing announced big plans to resurrect the Russian following new year.
“He looks to return in January, possibly January 13 in Las Vegas, and then we want to make the Beterbiev fight. There’s been a few approaches about that fight,” Hearn told Pro Boxing Fans.
In what we hope is a delightful twist of fate, the stars seem to be aligned when Beterbiev, the undisputed champion of the WBC, WBO, and IBF, and Bivol, the WBA titleholder, crossed paths in Saudi Arabia during the week of the epochal Tyson Fury-Francis Ngannou crossover spectacle. This encounter only served to fuel the craving for their impending clash to determine the supreme light heavyweight champion.
But Beterbiev couldn’t resist a playful jab, claiming that Bivol, in his opinion, seemed more inclined to talk the talk than to actually lace up the gloves and fight.
Now, while Beterbiev himself gears up for action on that very same January 13th, he’s slated to face none other than the formidable former super middleweight champion, Callum Smith, in Quebec City, Canada. This fight, initially scheduled for August 19, had been postponed due to Beterbiev’s unfortunate battle with a bone infection in his jaw, which required surgery.
If all goes according to Hearn’s plan, we will be one major step closer to seeing Beterbiev vs Bivol.
