WBA light heavyweight champion manager Dmitry Bivol Vadim Kornilov in an interview with , he said that neither their side, nor the side of the WBC, IBF, WBO Artur Beterbiev never made any proposals for a unification fight.
Bivol, 32, has 21 victories in the professional ring (11 by knockout). In 2022, the Russian beat Mexicans Saul Alvarez and Gilberto Ramirez by unanimous decision and was recognized as the best boxer of the year by WBA, ESPN, BWAA, The Ring and . Because of Beterbiev, who turns 38 in January, his first 18 wins in the professional ring.
We want this fight, we are ready. But no one from Beterbiev’s team contacted us about the unification struggle. More than once in the press, I read the statements of (the head of Top Rank) Bob Arum that he does not see options for organizing such a confrontation: one on DAZN, and the second on ESPN. I don’t see any strong will on their part to agree on something. Nevertheless, if not with Canelo, then the fight with Beterbiev will be very relevant in the fall. I think there will be opportunities and ideas to organize this meeting,” Kornilov told .
– You said that Beterbiev’s team did not make any proposal to organize a unification fight. Were there any such steps on the part of the Bivol team?
We didn’t make that offer either. We currently have no option on how to afford a serious fee for this fight. But we are working on it. Soon, I think, we will present such a proposal. As I said, there were no proposals from their side either. But in the media there is an interview with representatives of Beterbiev, who says: “Beterbiev will not fight in DAZN.” Well, after these words we cannot make any proposals – Dima speaks on DAZN. At the same time, we did not say categorically that we would not fight there or there. In general, we haven’t received any proposals yet, if they do, we will take it very seriously. I think this fight will take place in the near future, and I can assume that if it does not take place in the United States, then it will take place in one of the Arab countries.
Beterbiev will face WBO mandatory challenger Anthony Yarde on Jan. 28 in London.
Source : MatchTV
I am Ashley Ortiz and I am a professional journalist working for Athletistic. My specialty is in sports journalism, particularly boxing. I have written articles for some of the most renowned publications on the subject, and my work has been featured across both print and digital media platforms.
