Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev III is officially on hold thanks to the World Boxing Council (WBC). The pair have produced two of the most entertaining, back and forth fights in the history of the sport. This fight had all the recipes of a mega fight.
The first time they fought on October 12, 2024, at the Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, the fight went the distance. Both fighters went blow for blow in a contest that seemed hard to judge. Boxing fans were glad they weren’t in a position to make the scorecards for the fight.
But the decision was clear by the judges. Beterbiev held on to his unbeaten record, winning via majority decision, something that many fans did not agree with. The fight was so closely contested that a split decision or a draw seemed the more likely outcome.
Regardless, Bivol asked for the immediate rematch, and Beterbiev obliged. And voila, a little over 4 months later, the pair were back in the ring again, in Saudi Arabia.
On that instance though, Bivol looked like a different fighter. He dominated the exchanges and never let the champ get on his bike, breaking his momentum. His fight plan paid dividends when the judges scored the bout in his favor, making it 1-1 in the series.
WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman has said the WBC have now officially ordered Dmitry Bivol to defend his undisputed light-heavyweight world titles vs David Benavidez next. pic.twitter.com/I9pzXxwX89
— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) March 5, 2025
The next natural step for both fighters is a trilogy fight, and Bivol, the newly crowned champ, seems interested. However, WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman is now asking the champ to defend his title against the mandatory challenger David Benevidez, who has been lurking in the shadows, waiting for a shot at the title. Benevidez has a 30-0 record, making him a tough and deserving challenger.
This puts the 175 lbs undisputed champ in a dilemma. He wants the trilogy fight, and so do the fans, but he has only till April 8 to negotiate with Benavidez regarding their fight. In this case, he will have to relinquish his WBC title, leaving the Mexican to fight for a vacant belt.
Turki Alalshikh himself has stated that if Beterbiev wanted the trilogy fight, he would make it happen. So it will be interesting to see how the undisputed champ navigates his way around this hurdle. Will he defend his title against Benavidez and then go for the trilogy bout? Or will he vacate his title and close the chapter on Beterbiev first? The world of boxing is eagerly awaiting his decision.
Speaking of rematches, this is not the only rematch that the champ has on his radar. Back in May 2022, he took on Canelo Alvarez in what was the Mexican’s debut at light heavyweight as he looked to secure a title.
Things didn’t go Canelo’s way as he got outclassed by the champ. That is another rematch that could take place in the future, but Oscar De La Hoya does not see it going any differently.
De La Hoya backs Bivol to beat Canelo again
Bivol is not running short of options for his next fight. The Russian fighter has a lot of opponents to choose from, with the most obvious picks being either Artur Beterbiev or David Benavidez.
For now, both Bivol, and Turki Alalshikh are waiting for Beterbiev to say the word so that the trilogy fight can happen. However, the KO artist has not made a statement regarding the trilogy fight yet, so the wait goes on.
On the other hand, a less likely option for the Undisputed champ is a rematch against Canelo Alvarez, who is currently set to fight Terence Crawford in his next fight. With Canelo’s planning on defending his undisputed status at super middleweight, it doesn’t seem like he will move up in weight anytime soon, and according to De La Hoya, that is for the best.
The Mexican promoter and Canelo have had a lot of bad blood in the past, and although that may have an influence on his comments, there is some truth to what he said. In an interview for FightHubTV, De La Hoya spoke about the possibility of a Canelo vs. Bivol rematch saying, “There’s no way he beats Bivol, I mean there’s just no way. Styles make fights, and as much as I would want to see a Mexican win inside that ring…there’s no way he beats Bivol.”
“There’s NO WAY he (Canelo) beats Bivol in rematch”
De La Hoya says we see the same result if Canelo rematches Dmitry Bivol after his undisputed win over Beterbiev last Saturday. pic.twitter.com/Hn29EnOZPo
— Marcos Villegas (@heyitsmarcosv) March 1, 2025
The Golden Boy Promotions CEO does not see Canelo beating Bivol, not after the last two performances he put up against Artur Beterbiev. The undisputed champ will have all the advantages against the Mexican, height, reach, and strength. Pair that with his Soviet boxing style, and Canelo does not stand a chance against him.
