Top Rank Promoter, Bob Arum, does not plan on making the highly-anticipated undisputed light-heavyweight fight between his fighter Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol – at least whilst Russia’s invasion of Ukraine is ongoing.
With Beterbiev possessing a perfect record of 19-0 with nineteen knockouts and Bivol also undefeated and the 2022 Fighter of the Year, the match-up is right at the top of the list of fights fans want to see.
However, in an interview with The 3 Knockdown Rule, Arum explained that he it won’t happen because of the WBC’s political stance on Russian fighters.
“Yes [there is no possibility of Beterbiev-Bivol this year.]
The WBC has made its views known, I am very sympathetic to the WBC’s views and I 100% support Ukraine and it’s fight against aggression. So, I am not going to push a Bivol-Beterbiev fight.
You may say ‘well, isn’t Beterbiev Russian?’ and the answer is no, not really. He has had a residential visa in Canada for fourteen years, so I look at him as being Canadian.
I don’t want to do anything that supports Russia is any way, so I applaud Mauricio [Sulaiman] for the position that he has taken.
I love the fight I’m just not going to do it against principles a lot of us hold dear, it is what it is.”
Beterbiev is already being 38-years-old, and this may well mean that the Canadian-Russian will never get the chance to face Bivol or to become the undisputed king.
Nevertheless, he fights in a ninth consecutive world title fight as he takes on Liverpool’s Callum Smith on August 19 in his hometown of Quebec.