Artur Beterbiev‘s next fight, should he beat Dmitry Bivol again this month, has been lined up.
Beterbiev takes on Bivol in a highly-anticipated rematch on February 22, with the undisputed light-heavyweight titles once again on the line.
The two men went head-to-head in their first meeting back in October looking to crown the first sole ruler of the division since Roy Jones Jr last achieved the feat over two decades ago.
It was a close fight throughout all 12 rounds, but in the end Beterbiev was awarded a majority decision verdict to add the WBA belt to his WBC, WBO and IBF titles and hand Bivol his first professional defeat.
With just over a week to go until their rematch, fans have been speculating about what could be next, with Beterbiev’s next move already seemingly decided.
He has been ordered by the WBC to make a mandatory defence against current WBC interim 175lb champion David Benavidez, who earned the right to be in that position following his unanimous decision victory over David Morrell earlier this month.
Benavidez is known as ‘The Mexican Monster’ and is unbeaten in his professional career to date, having put together a record of 30-0, with 24 of those wins coming by knockout.
He was a two-time super-middleweight champion, before moving up to 175lbs last year, claiming a win over Oleksandr Gvozdyk in his first fight in the division. The following Morrell win also landed him the WBA Regular title, strengthening his position.
Bivol will be hoping to throw a spanner in the works of seeing Beterbiev vs. Benavidez if he is able to win the rematch against his rival, after it was confirmed by Saudi chief Turki Alalshikh that a trilogy against Beterbiev will be next if Bivol comes out on top next week.
