WBC Declares Who Dmitry Bivol's Next Opponent Will Be

Boxing On SI Staff | Feb 27, 2025

IMAGO / Agencia-MexSport

The World Boxing Council updated it division statuses for February and made very clear who Dmitry Bivol will fight next.

While many boxing fans are looking toward a trilogy fight between Bivol and Artur Beterbiev on the heels of Bivol's rematch win in Riyadh to declare a winner once and for all, that bout might just have to wait.

With the status update, the WBC made clear Bivol "must fight David Benavidez next."

The full description of the WBC's status by division for February 2025 is as follows.

LIGHT HEAVYWEIGHT
Undisputed champion Artur Beterbiev will fight a rematch with Dmitry Bivol on February 22 in Riyadh. Interim champion David Benavidez will fight David Morrell on February 1. The winner will be the mandatory challenger for the division to fight the winner of Beterbiev vs. Bivol.
February 1 – David Benavidez defeated David Morell in Las Vegas
February 22 – Dmitry Bivol defeated Artur Beterbiev in Riyadh
Dimitry Bivol must fight David Benavidez next.

MORE: Dmitry Bivol vs Canelo Alvarez Rematch? 5 Possible Opponents For Dmitry Bivol After Becoming Undisputed Champion

Earlier this month Benavidez appeared on the Ariel Helwani show and made clear he would look forward to a match with Bivol.

“To be honest with you, I would pick Bivol because Bivol beat Canelo. So basically, when I beat Bivol, that would make my case even better to Canelo and I know Dmitry Bivol really well, I sparred him a lot. He’s a great fighter and we’ve had a lot of great sparring sessions so I definitely would love to fight Bivol.”

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