Matchroom Boxing and PBC are close to finalizing a fight between David Benavidez and undisputed light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, for the summer. This is the fight that fans have been calling for instead of a trilogy between Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) and Artur Beterbiev.
The WBC forced Bivol’s hand last week, ordering him to start negotiations for a fight to happen next against his mandatory Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs). They gave a deadline of April 8th to have the talks done before they’d order a purse bid. Benavidez earned his spot to challenge for the titles the hard way, going through David Morrell last month, winning a grueling 12-round unanimous decision.
“Attention attention!!! PBC and Matchroom are very close to finalizing a deal for Bivol and David Benavidez to face off this summer,” said JuliusJulianis on X.
Some boxing fans are grumbling on social media, saying they wanted to see the trilogy match between Bivol and Artur Beterbiev. However, that fight can still happen, but maybe not with any belts at stake. If Benavidez is victorious, it would obviously sap a lot of the interest from fans in a third Bivol-Beterbiev fight, but that’s okay. They can still fight for the sake of proving who the better fighter is.
Classical boxer Bivol, 34, has a lot to lose going up against Benavidez. If he’s beaten in this fight, he can forget about getting a lucrative rematch with Canelo Alvarez. Bivol needs the four belts to lure Canelo to fight him again because without them, he has nothing to offer.
If Benavidez defeats Bivol, he probably won’t get the Canelo because he doesn’t want to fight him, but a clash against Beterbiev will be just as thrilling to watch. Benavidez vs. Artur Beterbiev would be a huge fight between two brawlers and that would be much more exciting. It’s a fight that should be happening next because many believe Bivol’s win over Beterbiev last month was controversial.
