Eddie Hearn has laid out his roadmap of huge fights in the light heavyweight division over the next 18 months, and hopes to eventually land an undisputed clash between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev.
Hearn has revealed that pound for pound star Canelo Alvarez will now look to rematch Bivol at super middleweight for all four major belts, whilst Beterbiev defends his light heavyweight titles against mandatory challenger Callum Smith
Speaking on the DAZN Boxing Show, Hearn said:
“Canelo Alvarez wants to fight Dmitry Bivol for undisputed at 168lbs. So Bivol is in a great position.
“For me, I would like to see Callum Smith vs Beterbiev, probably at Anfield after Ramadan. Dmitry Bivol against Joshua Buatsi in the spring. Then Bivol fight Canelo at 168 for undisputed, then straight away fight Beterbiev for undisputed at 175 – or Callum Smith.”
“There’s so much that can happen. Bivol may want to go straight into a fight at 175 with Beterbiev. We’ve got Callum Smith, we’ve got Bivol, we’ve got Canelo Alvarez. This is where it gets really exciting.”
Fans have been incessant in calling for an all Russian undisputed showdown between Bivol and Beterbiev in the wake of ‘King Artur’s destructive win over Anthony Yarde this past weekend, where he stopped the Londoner in the eighth round at the OVO Arena.
A four belt showdown is unlikely to be next, however, as the WBC confirmed at their most recent conference that Beterbiev must defend his titles against Smith next and that no allowances would be made for a fight with Bivol.
A fight between the two countryman is widely regarded as one of the best to be made in the sport, and has fans split down the middle on who would emerge victorious.