WBA Russian light heavyweight champion Dmitri Bivol in an interview with , he said that his team had long discussed everything with the Saudi organizers regarding the fight for the absolute champion title with his compatriot Artur Beterbiev .
On January 13, Beterbiev defended his belts at a boxing event in Quebec, defeating Briton Callum Smith by technical knockout in the seventh round. Earlier, Beterbiev, 39, and Bivol, 33, spoke several times about their willingness to fight face-to-face.
— How realistic is your meeting with Beterbiev?
– Yes, she’s real. I even got a call from Turki Al al-Sheikh (chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia) and asked if I was ready. Naturally, I responded that I was ready: “Now, let’s arrange a date.” » Our team agreed on the conditions, now they asked me for a date. Now we have to wait for them to agree with Top Rank and announce the date. I think our fight announcement will happen soon. Ethically, it would simply be wrong for me to say something publicly now. Generally, it is the promoters or organizers who announce the fights, not the athletes.
— Did I understand correctly that your team has already agreed on all your conditions for the fight with Beterbiev?
— We agreed on our basic conditions even before signing the fight with Lyndon Arthur (Bivol won in Saudi Arabia in December — note from ). There is no need to negotiate much with us or Matchroom. Now Beterbiev’s camp, Top Rank, is negotiating the terms.
— So you didn’t sign a contract for the fight with Beterbiev?
– Look, I didn’t sign the contract for the fight itself. We have formally agreed to the conditions of our camp in the event of a fight. In general, we agreed (with the organizers), now there is nothing to negotiate with us. From now on, we will only be asked for the date, if we are ready for a specific date.
—Have you ever talked about deadlines?
— We were talking about the end of April, but now it’s a little different.
— Ramadan will end on April 9, so we will talk about holding battles in summer.
— I think we should expect the announcement of the dates when the Saudi side has determined everything.
— Do you understand that now your fight with Beterbiev is more real than it has ever been?
– Of course, there is this understanding. We understand that it is real and that this fight is close. Great,” Bivol told .
Beterbiev’s statistics are 20 early victories in 20 professional fights. Bivol has 22 victories in 22 fights.
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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.
