Dmitry Bivol is fresh off the best performance of his career having defeated Artur Beterbiev in their rematch to become undisputed light-heavyweight champion.
Bivol fell short against Beterbiev in October 2024, becoming the first man to go the distance with the ferocious puncher but losing via majority decision. Many in the sport felt he had performed well enough to win, and an immediate rematch took place in February of this year.
Bivol started well, weathered a storm in the middle rounds and came on extremely strong to close the show, this time taking his own majority decision and all four belts in the 175lbs division.
Whilst a trilogy lis a real possibility – and few fans would complain – the four-belt champion has now been called to face his WBC mandatory challenger in David Benavidez, the former super-middleweight world champion who has had just two fights at 175 pounds.
Intriguingly, Benavidez has always been confident of beating Bivol due to, he says, past sparring sessions. Film Director Peter Berg – who opened the Matchroom Churchill Boxing Gym alongside Eddie Hearn – said on the Joe Rogan Experience he had witnesses ‘the hardest punch he’s ever seen’ in one of those sessions.
“Dmitry trains in our gym. The hardest punch I’ve ever seen anybody throw in my life was in our gym. David Benavidez was sparring him and Bivol caught Benavidez and dropped him with a jab in sparring.”
However, Berg – who has helmed such films as Patriots Day and Lone Survivor – then later clarified on social media that it was the other way around – Benavidez dropped Bivol.
“I have to retract something that I said because I was wrong. I said Bivol dropped Benavidez at Churchill Boxing Club with a jab, I remembered it wrong, it was Benavidez that dropped Bivol.
“I don’t know why I remembered it wrong but I did, and I suspected actually when I was saying it that I was wrong, but it was Benavidez that dropped Bivol, straight up, with an incredible jab.”
Fans would love to see the fight and most agree that Benavidez deserves a fresh world title shot having chased Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez at super-middleweight for some time and failed to get the fight.
Despite the WBC order and the thrilling clash of styles, Riyadh Season’s Turki Alalshikh, who has organised Bivol’s two clashes with Beterbiev, says he is ‘no longer interested in the fight’ between with Benavidez.
