Saudi promoter Turki Alalshikh has revealed that IBF/WBC/WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev has suffered a reptured meniscus knee injury. This has resulted in his undisputed championship fight against WBA champion Dmitry Bivol being postponed to June 1st in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Bivol will remain on the fighting fighting a replacement opponent.
5v5 Event to Proceed, Main Event Uncertain
Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) and Bivol will fight “later this year.” Alalshikh says the 5v5 event for that card is still on for June 1st. He didn’t say which fight on the card will be the main event now, but it’s likely that he’ll slide the co-feature bout between former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang into the main event.
The Card:
Deontay Wilder vs. Zhilei Zhang
Filip Hrgovic vs. Daniel Dubois
Raymond Ford vs. Nick Ball
Hamzah Sheeraz vs. Austin Williams
Willy Hutchinson vs. Craig Richards
Boxing fans will be disappointed having to wait a little longer for the Beterbiev-Bivol clash, as they’ve been waiting for five years for this match to take place. But it’s better late than never. Beterbiev has been waiting for a fight against Bivol for five years, and the injury has got to be frustrating for him.
Injury Details & the Future
Beterbiev suffered a torn knee meniscus injury, which could keep him out of action until September and possibly later. At 39, this is not the type of injury that Beterbiev will be able come back quickly from.
With the event less than a month away, there’s not enough time for Beterbiev to be ready.
Ideally, it would be great to see WBA champion Bivol take a fight against the winner of the June 15th fight between Oleksandr Gvozdyk and David Benavidez, but that’s not realistic because those guys are fighting in a WBC 175-lb title eliminator for the interim title. The winner of that fight will be the mandatory for Beterbiev’s belt, not Bivol’s WBA strap.
After receiving today’s news about Beterbiev’s injury, we will be postponing the Beterbiev vs. Bivol fight scheduled for June 1st until later this year. Wishing my brother Artur a speedy recovery 💪🙏 However, the 5v5 event is still on for June 1st. 🥊🔥
— TURKI ALALSHIKH (@Turki_alalshikh) May 3, 2024