By Gerardo Romero
05 Feb 2024, 07:25 AM EST
The long wait is over and the date has finally been determined for the long-awaited fight for the undisputed light heavyweight championship between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol; The meeting was intended to be held on June 1 in Saudi Arabia according to the announcement made by the president of the General Entertainment Authority of the Kingdom, Turki Alalshikh, on “The MMA Hour.”
Both fighters are currently dominating the 175-pound category in world boxing and for this reason their fight had become the most anticipated by fans; Such had been the desire for this fight that even Beterbiev himself has highlighted on several occasions that he wanted to face his compatriot in the ring.
Beterbiev is currently the champion of the World Boxing Organization (WBO), the World Boxing Council (WBC), and the International Boxing Federation (IBF) to place himself at the top of the line in the light heavyweight category.
Bivol, for his part, holds the title of champion of the World Boxing Association (WBA) and has an impeccable record of 22 wins and zero losses with 11 knockouts in his career to position himself as one of the best fighters in the world; His impressive level of competition was demonstrated a year ago by defeating undisputed super middleweight champion Saúl ‘Canelo’ Álvarez.
Beterbiev, 39 years old, had shown his desire to be able to face Bivol (33 years old) on repeated occasions; Despite this he detailed that he did not have a set agreement with his opponent’s team because he was focused on the fight he ended up winning against Callum Smith a little over a week ago.
It is important to highlight that the veteran Russian boxer who currently lives in Quebec City is emerging as the favorite to achieve victory in this fight because he has a record of 20 wins and zero losses; He has won all 20 fights by knockout and remains the only boxing champion with a 100% KO rate.
Despite this announcement by Turki Alalshikh on “The MMA Hour”, it is still expected that in the coming days an official statement will be made presenting the card that will star the two Russian fighters and in which they will also The previously announced series of five fights between Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing and Frank Warren’s Queensberry Promotions will take place.
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