Dmitry Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) has decided to vacate his WBC light heavyweight title instead of taking part in tomorrow’s purse bid on April 18th for his mandatory David Benavidez challenger for their WBC-ordered fight.
Bivol will still hold the IBF, WBA, and WBO 175-lb belts to defend against Artur Beterbiev in a trilogy match that Turki wants. It comes down to which of the two fights pays the best, and the Beterbiev trilogy is the one that will give Bivol the most money. Moreover, it’s a fight that Bivol has a better shot at winning due to the 40-year-old Beterbiev’s age and slow foot and hand speed.
Beterbiev Next
Boxing fans were hoping to see WBC interim 175-lb champion David Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) get a chance to fight for the world title against Bivol because he represents youth and has a more exciting style than Beterbiev.
There needs to be new blood in the division and a chance to have some turnover rather than having Bivol & Beterbiev shut out the contenders so they can endlessly play a game of two-square in Saudi Arabia.
The Ring reports that Bivol will “proceed with the Artur Beterbiev trilogy.
Bivol and Beterbiev are 1-1 after two fights. Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs) won the first fight by a 12-round majority decision on October 12th in Riyadh last year. In the rematch on February 22nd, Bivol won by a 12-round majority decision. You can argue the rematch should have been a draw if one counted the rounds that Beterbiev appeared to win.
I have just received a cold and impersonal notification from Dmitry Bivol lawyer, Patrick English, with arguments that are so ridiculous that I rather not discuss informing the WBC that Dmitry Bivol has decided to relinquish his WBC light heavyweight championship. We wish Bivol…
— Mauricio Sulaiman (@wbcmoro) April 7, 2025
He clearly won six rounds, but the judges gave it to Bivol. That works in Beterbiev’s favor because if he had won the second fight, there wouldn’t have been a trilogy, and he would have hurt his own pocketbook.
Interim to Full
Benavidez is expected to be elevated to full WBC light heavyweight champion now that Bivol has vacated his belt. It’ll be interesting to see who his first title defense will be against. David Morrell is ranked #2 behind #1 Artur Beterbiev. With Beterbiev now fighting Bivol, he’ll lose his WBC ranking, which opens the door for Morrell.