The third episode between Russians will have to wait as Artur Beterbiev has accepted a fight on November 22 against Deon Nicholson. This was because Dmitry Bivol did not respond to offers to complete the trilogy in his native Russia. Sources close to Bivol mention that the boxer would be interested in taking the fight in Moscow, but is unaware of what security measures they will have due to the development of the war against Ukraine.
It should be remembered that Dmitry Bivol won the rematch last February, while Artur Beterbiev won the first fight in October 2024. Both victories were by majority decision. Instead of keeping Riyadh Season as their promoter, Beterbiev and Bivol pushed for their trilogy to be held in Russia with different organizers. The president of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority, Turki Alalshikh, gave his approval for the Russian fighters to go ahead.
Dmitry Bivol has remained silent and has not reached an agreement to fight the trilogy
The fight to complete the trilogy would be the tiebreaker between the two fighters, where Artur Beterbiev accepted the offer from the moment he received it. However, Bivol remained silent and never gave a position.
Our next fight was supposed to be in Russia, you know what we’re talking about, the third fight with Bivol. We were offered excellent conditions, almost impossible to refuse. For my part, I did everything possible to make the third fight take place, but my opponent chose to retire again
Artur Beterbiev.
Artur Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs), who is 40 years old and lost his unbeaten record to Bivol, will face a relatively unknown fighter, Nicholson (22-1, 18 KOs), and is expected to be a heavy betting favorite. Fighting out of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, 34-year-old Nicholson has faced relatively low-level opposition in his professional career, which began in 2016. Beterbiev will represent a major competitive breakthrough for Nicholson, whose only loss was by knockout to Efetobor Apochi in 2021.
Dmitry Bivol’s options for his next fight
After his absence from negotiations to complete the trilogy, 34-year-old Dmitry Bivol, who relinquished the WBC title rather than face Benavidez, was ordered by the IBF to face Michael Eifert in a mandatory title defense. Although Beterbiev has decided to seek another opponent, it is unknown whether Bivol will accept to defend the title against Eifert. The Russian has a record of 24 wins, 12 of them by knockout, and one loss.
Artur Beterbiev will fight Deon Nicholson on November 22, postponing for now a possible trilogy against Dmitry Bivol. The fight will be part of the undercard of the event “Night of Champions” by Ring IV, headlined by David Benavidez vs. Anthony Yarde
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