Undisputed light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol is now waiting for the “offer” for his next fight against David Benavidez, Canelo Alvarez, or Artur Beterbiev.
Fan Fatigue
The boxing public is burned out on watching Bivol and Beterbiev fight, as neither of their clashes has been particularly thrilling. Bivol’s defensive style, involving constant movement and clinching, made both bouts dull for fans who prefer action fights.
It would be good for the sport if Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) were next for Bivol because he’s better at chasing runners down than Beterbiev. Dmitry doesn’t know how to fight any other way than to move nonstop, and it requires someone good at cutting off the ring to force him to fight.
Benavidez would be perfect for the job. Beterbiev would have won last Saturday if he’d thrown more punches while chasing Bivol. He was waiting too long. David Benavidez is much more equipped to fight those types of fighters because he’s faced evasive guys before and is excellent at trapping them.
Turki Alalshikh has talked about wanting a trilogy between Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) and the dethroned 175-lb undisputed champion Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs), but it sounds like Dmitry will take whatever fight pays the most.
A Better Fight
The ideal fight for Turki to make would be between Beterbiev and Benavidez. This is a far better fight for the boxing world than one involving Bivol. He’s not interesting to watch, at least for U.S. fans. He’s like Shakur Stevenson, and Americans don’t like watching defensive guys that run for 12 rounds like that. In this era of the sport, entertainment is king, and belts don’t matter anymore.
What’s important now are fights involving fighters with exciting styles that create interest. Bivol falls well short of meeting that criteria. Beterbiev and Benavidez do.
All the nonstop movement that Bivol did last Saturday night and in his previous fight with Artur makes him an eyesore for the public to watch. He’s okay if he’s not on PPV cards, but he’s not entertaining enough to fight Beterbiev, Canelo, or Benavidez. If fans cared about belts in this era, we’d have superstars in every weight class than the tiny handful. The fighters that are stars have exciting styles. Bivol is not must-see TV.
Canelo already has a match scheduled against Terence Crawford for September 13th in what Turki calls “The big fight.” Unless Alvarez makes easy work of the 37-year-old Crawford, he’ll unlikely be free to fight Bivol this year.
“It doesn’t matter. Trilogy [against Beterbiev], Benavidez, Canelo, or just as always, I’m waiting for an offer, and I’m saying, ‘Yes,’” said Dmitry Bivol at the post-fight press conference, talking about his next fight following his victory over Artur Beterbiev last Saturday night in Riyadh.
Last Updated on 02/24/2025
