By Craig Daly: Eddie Hearn wants Dmitry Bivol to defend his WBA light heavyweight title against #3 ranked contender Joshua Buatsi next in September or October, possibly in the UK.
Now that Canelo Alvarez has decided to fight Gennadiy Golovkin on September 17th instead of facing Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) in a rematch, Hearn would like Dmitry to defend his WBA title around the same time.
Buatsi (16-0, 13 KOs) is an ideal opponent for Bivol because it’s an easy fight for Hearn to make, and it would create a lot of noise in the UK, especially if it’s staged there. It would be shown on DAZN, so there wouldn’t be a network issue causing headaches.
The 2016 Olympian Buatsi defeated former world title challenger Craig Richards by a close 12-round unanimous decision on May 21st.
Bivol would like to face the winner of the light heavyweight unification fight between IBF/WBC champion Artur Beterbiev and WBO champ Joe Smith, but that might not be possible.
Bivol wants undisputed fight
“We’re keeping one eye on Beterbiev vs. Joe Smith because there is a chance that Bivol will fight the winner of that for the undisputed, so we’ll continue to monitor that situation as well,” said Eddie Hearn to iFL TV about Dmitry Bivol’s next fight.
“But obviously, if that’s the case, then Canelo Alvarez and he [Bivol] got beat, is the Canelo fight that big?
“The Canelo Alvarez fight for Dmitry Bivol, in terms of the rematch, is by far financially the biggest fight out there for him, but he does also want to try and unify and become undisputed at 175.
“The fight that we’d like to make [for Bivol] is Joshua Buatsi, and that’s the fight that we’ll be pushing for September or October. I’ve spoken to Joshua Buatsi, I’ve spoken to 258, and I’ve spoken to Virgil Hunter,” Hearn said.
Buatsi’s team ready for Bivol
“They are happy and ready to go straight into a Dmitry Bivol fight for September, October, or whenever that fight is,” said Hearn.
“I think if Dmitry Bivol is going to make a voluntary defense, it’s very likely it’ll be against Joshua Buatis. Possibly,” said Hearn when asked if the Bivol vs. Buatsi fight would take place in the UK.
“Virgil messaged me and said, ‘Just to let you know, we’re ready to make the Bivol fight.’
“I think the timing is everything, and this is the time when Joshua can get his shot. If he doesn’t take his shot now, how long do you wait?
“We also have Callum Smith, who will be boxing on the AJ card [on July 23rd], and he’ll be looking to fight. He could be another option for Dmitry Bivol.
“He’s also the #1 challenger for Artur Beterbiev for the WBC. So things are going to play out, but certainly, the message from Buatsi’s team is, ‘We’d like to fight Dmitry Bivol this Autumn,” said Hearn.
