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According to their promoter Eddie Hearn, a fight between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol for the undisputed light heavyweight championship may take place one day, but it won't happen before Canelo Alvarez has a chance to settle the score with Bivol.
The head of Matchroom, which represents both Alvarez and Bivol, Hearn, has repeatedly stated that he is willing to discuss the possibility of a 175-pound unification bout with Top Rank, the promoter of Beterbiev, the champion of the WBC, WBO, and IBF. However, Hearn has made it clear that he will not agree to a situation in which Alvarez must postpone his scheduled fight in September in order to make room for Beterbiev That means, provided the individual organizers of the fights can actually reach an agreement, that Beterbiev-Bivol would most likely have to happen in 2024.
Since losing a decision to Bivol last spring in Las Vegas in a 12-round light heavyweight contest for Bivol's WBA championship, undisputed 168-pound Mexican superstar Alvarez has been trying to even the score with the Russian fighter. Alvarez, who typically competes twice a year, is anticipated to return to the ring in the spring against London's John Ryder and again in the fall against Bivol.
In a recent interview, Hearn was asked if Alvarez would be ready to wait until the boxing world crowned an undisputed champion at 175 pounds this year before getting another chance to face Bivol. Hearn categorically rejected that idea.
“At the end of the day, Canelo Alvarez wants revenge against Dmitry Bivol,” Hearn continued. “Like I said, we’ve got a lot of irons in the fire here where we have to do what’s best for a number of fighters, you know. Beterbiev-Bivol is one of the best fights in boxing.”
In any case, it would be challenging to organize a Beterbiev-Bivol fight because it would require cooperation between Top Rank and Matchroom on a number of business matters, the most important of which is the broadcaster for the potential contest. Top Rank is required to promote its fighters on ESPN, whereas Matchroom has its own extensive output agreement with DAZN. Beterbiev-Bivol can only take place if ESPN is allowed to broadcast it, according to Top Rank CEO Bob Arum, who has long made that plain. Additionally, Bivol's compensation against Beterbiev would be significantly less lucrative than his prospective career-high earnings versus boxing's cash cow, Canelo Alvarez.
“Like I said, Canelo’s plan is to fight John Ryder and Dmitry Bivol,” Hearn said. “I spoke with Eddy Reynoso last night. We’re looking at possible venues, obviously there are other fights for Canelo Alvarez. We’re planning with Eddy and Saul [fights for] this year and next year. Obviously, you have [Caleb] Plant-[David] Benavidez [168-pound bout] coming up. I know Edgar Berlanga is making a lot of noise. If he can get a couple of big wins, I think that’s a big fight against Canelo Alvarez as well. The priority is May against the mandatory John Ryder and moving towards Dmitry Bivol for undisputed at 168.”
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