Dmitry Bivol will face Gilberto Ramirez before the end of the year.
The pair will contest the former’s WBA Super world light-heavyweight title after a deal was struck to avoid purse bids between Matchroom Boxing and Golden Boy Promotions.
Bivol is coming off a career-best win as he shocked Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez back in May at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
The Mexican superstar was coming up in weight for the clash and was on the wrong end of a decision in Nevada.
But ‘Canelo’s’ fellow Mexican Ramirez is the guy with the opportunity to relieve the Russian of the belt when they clash on November 5 at the Etihad Arena in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.
Eddie Hearn, the Matchroom head honcho, had teased a deal to host a number of fight nights in the Middle East and it was revealed on Tuesday that Bivol’s mandatory defence against ‘Zurdo’ (44-0, 30 KOs) would kick off a new partnership with the Department of Culture and Tourism in Abu Dhabi called the ‘Champion Series’.
In a Matchroom press release, he said:
“I’m delighted to bring this huge World Title fight to Abu Dhabi and would like to thank Department of Culture and Tourism – Abu Dhabi for all of their help in making this world-class event become a reality.
“Dmitry Bivol has now secured himself with pound-for-pound status after his victory over Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez in May and looks to make a hugely important defence against mandatory challenger and former world champion Gilberto Ramirez.”
The fight will be screened exclusively live worldwide to subscribers on DAZN (excluding South Korea and MENA) and Bivol (20-0, 11 KOs) will be keen to add to his legacy on the back of the win against Alvarez earlier this year.
Ramirez is a former WBO world champion at super-middleweight who moved up to light-heavyweight and has finally worked his way into the upper echelons of the division. He became mandatory with a win against Dominic Boesel at the Toyota Arena in Ontario in May.
Hearn, who had been in talks with Bivol to host a fight between him and British light-heavyweight Joshua Buatsi prior to the WBA’s mandatory title defence order, has promised that the card will be “stacked with world championship fights” and will be “one of the biggest nights of boxing in 2022.”
Details regarding the supporting cast will be revealed in due course.