Dmitry Bivol’s manager outlines ideal path after Michael Eifert fight
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Dan Rafael and other media personnel revealed that Lineal and unified light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol looks set to face IBF mandatory challenger Michael Eifert in his first fight since undergoing back surgery. His manager, Vadim Kornilov, has also revealed the ideal two fights to follow the Eifert mandatory bout.
Dmitry Bivol set to return against Michael Eifert
Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) was last seen in the ring, winning his rematch against Artur Beterbiev to become the undisputed light heavyweight champion.
The mercurial Russian underwent back surgery last August, and before that, it was expected we would see Bivol vs Beterbiev 3, even more so after Bivol vacated the WBC belt to pursue the trilogy. That fight never happened, and it remains to be seen if it ever will.
IBF mandatory challenger Michael Eifert (13-1, 5 KOs) has also been waiting patiently, and it now appears he and Bivol have reached an agreement, with the fight expected to take place on the Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven undercard at the Pyramids of Giza in Giza, Egypt. A purse bid for Bivol vs Eifert was due on March 10, but it was ultimately cancelled with the fighters’ teams finally reaching an agreement.
Ideal plan for Dmitry Bivol
As revealed by Bivol’s manager Vadim Kornilov to Dan Rafael, Dmitry Bivol intends to face the IBF mandatory Eifert this spring. Assuming Bivol comes through that defence as expected, he will then look to face Artur Beterbiev for the third time, with their trilogy currently at 1-1.
Should Bivol beat Beterbiev again, he would like to face Canelo in a rematch, David Benavidez or a cruiserweight champion. Could we perhaps see Bivol vs Jai Opetaia?
There are plenty of attractive options for the Kyrgyzstan native. It remains to be seen how well Bivol has recovered since his back surgery. If Bivol is back to anywhere near his best, it’s a problem for many of the top fighters.