Dmitry Bivol appears to have his next fight lined up, but it won’t be the trilogy bout with Artur Beterbiev that many boxing fans have been waiting for.
Bivol is set to defend his unified light heavyweight titles against former world champion Callum Smith on December 12 in Russia. Smith is the WBO mandatory challenger, putting him next in line for a shot at Bivol’s belts.
The matchup comes with Bivol and Beterbiev still tied at one victory apiece following two closely contested fights. Despite continued talk of completing the trilogy, promoter Eddie Hearn says Bivol was never presented with an offer that would have made the third fight a realistic option.
No Offer For Beterbiev Trilogy
Beterbiev handed Bivol the first defeat of his professional career when they met in October 2024. Bivol got his revenge four months later, winning their rematch and becoming the undisputed light heavyweight champion.
Bivol later vacated the WBC belt but retained the WBA, IBF and WBO championships. He returned to action in May and successfully defended those titles against Michael Eifert in Russia.
With the score against Beterbiev sitting at 1-1, a deciding fight seemed like the obvious next chapter. Hearn, however, told ProBox TV that no suitable offer for the trilogy ever arrived.
It was never offered.
Hearn added that Bivol would have been willing to give up another title if a reasonable offer had been made for the Beterbiev fight. Instead, the focus has shifted to Smith, whose mandatory opportunity has been waiting.
By the way, if there was an offer that was even remotely reasonable, the Callum Smith fight would not be happening. Dmitry would have vacated and fought Beterbiev, but that is not the case because Callum’s shot is long overdue and that is a great fight.
“Bivol will fight Callum Smith, it will be announced soon and it will be December in Russia, December 12th, the same night as something else that we were trying to move, unfortunately.
“We will see who wins that fight and I think that the winner will fight [David] Benavidez or Beterbiev.
Bivol-Smith is expected to be formally announced soon, with December 12 targeted for the fight in Russia.
Callum Smith Gets His World Title Shot
Smith has not fought since scoring an impressive victory over Joshua Buatsi on the undercard of Bivol-Beterbiev II.
The former WBA super-middleweight champion now gets another opportunity to become a world champion, this time at 175 pounds. A victory over Bivol would immediately shake up the top of the light heavyweight division.
Bivol, meanwhile, has bigger fights waiting if he successfully handles his mandatory challenger.
Hearn believes the winner of Bivol-Smith could move on to a major showdown against either Beterbiev or WBC champion David Benavidez.
