Boxing
Dmitryry Bivol “cool and impersonal” WBC letter leaked
Published
11 months agoon
Dmitryry Bivol sent the World Boxing Council letter explaining his decision to leave the lightweight heavyweight title.
Bivol’s activities took place a few hours before the undisputed champion on Tuesday’s handbag to face the mandatory contender David Benavidez.
The letter, sent by the lawyer Bivol, Patrick English to the former WBN writer, Dan Rafael, presents why the 34-year-old felt that he has no choice but to abandon the green and golden belt.
Worldboxingnews.com obtained a letter overdue on Monday as Bivol [24-1, 12 KOs] confirmed that he would focus on the trilogy with Artur Beterbal [21-1, 20 KOs] After their fight on February 22.
“April 7, 2025, dear President of Sulaiman: As you know, the office represents Dimitri Bivol. Mr. Bivol was placed in a situation where, unfortunately, he is forced to tell the title of the World Boxing Council.
“Everyone in boxing knows that there is a commitment for the third fight with Artur Beterbaview, generally considered the second best lightweight weight in boxing. We are working on consuming this fight.
“In addition, we are terrified by the inability to comply with the rotation system created many years ago. You are aware that IBF claims that it is the main organization, justifying, for the next Bivol.
“We want to be kind to people involved in the potential offer of a handbag planned for tomorrow. In this way we will notify you about the waiver of the belt before this time, so that people do not incur unnecessary travel expenses.
“Mr. Bivol appreciates such kindness of WBC as he has been awarded in the past.
“Regards, Patrick C. English.”
President of WBC Mauricio Sulaiman did not take a tone of the letter too kindly and expressed his feelings in this matter. In his answer, Sulaiman called the argument that IBF is another “amusing” for ending Bivol vs. Benavidez.
“I just received a cool and impersonal notification of lawyer Dmitry Biovol, Patrick English, with arguments that are so amusing that I would rather not discuss WBC informing that Dmitriry Bivol decided to give up his lightweight WBC championships.
“We wish Bivol’s success and hereby confirm David Benavidez as a heavyweight master WBC World Lightweight.”
Benavidez [30-0, 24 KOs] He raises the free WBC Lightweight Heavyweight and will have a grace period for his first defense against each in the top fifteen rankings. Despite the fact that Callum Smith was recognized as a potential pretender, nothing is yet in Liverpool stone.
The “Mexican monster” begins his third rule as a ruler after he was undressed twice in a super medium weight and never lost any titles inside the ring.
The hard-year-old 28-year-old defeated David Morrell on February 1 to prove his references in the 175 pounds ward. His pursuit of becoming the undisputed champion of lightweight heavyweight will continue when the third part of Bivol vs Beterbiev will be in the books.
Both Canelo Alvarez and Bivol decided not to follow the mandatory WBC orders to face Benavidez over the past two years.
Bivol, which now has IBF, WBO and WBA versions, will plan its planned third fight with Beterbiew.
WBN understands the date in October for Bivol vs Beterbaview as part of the Riyadh season ceremony in Saudi Arabia.
Turks Alalshikh will be expected to make a formal announcement of the trilogy match until the summer after Bivol equated with a series of two -fever according to the decision of the majority. He took revenge on Beterbaiew, doing exactly the same at the first meeting.
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Canelo Alvarez talked about how long he could stay in the sport before hanging up his gloves and opting for a decorated career.
The 35-year-old is already destined for a place in the Hall of Fame, as he became a four-division world champion, but he still wants to compete at the highest level.
Since his professional debut in 2005, the Mexican has made 68 appearances and has twice become the undisputed king of the 168-pound division, scoring notable victories over the likes of Callum Smith and Caleb Plant.
However, his most critical victory came in the middleweight division, where Alvarez made a very controversial decision by majority vote in a rematch with Gennady Golovkin in 2018.
More controversial was their first meeting a year earlier, when many felt Golovkin had done enough to claim a convincing victory and the Kazakhstan ended in a draw.
Still, Canelo received plenty of credit for his follow-up triumph before dethroning Sergei Kovalev to capture the WBO featherlight heavyweight title over a year later.
Alvarez’s second undisputed super middleweight reign came to an end last September when Terence Crawford moved up two weight classes and won a unanimous decision.
But Canelo explained anyway Froch About the fight that he can still compete for another two years, maybe even longer, depending on how often his opportunities come along.
“I don’t know. I think maybe two years. I don’t need it, [but] I still enjoy it. If I [fight] maybe once a year [I can go on] a little bit [longer].
“Once a year to rest my body, I think I can fight more [than two years]”
Although an official announcement has not yet been made, Canelo is scheduled to fight in Riyad, Saudi Arabia this September, and Turki Alalshikh has promised to fight for the world title.
Boxing
The Inoue-Nakatani title fight will take place on May 2 at the Tokyo Dome
Published
4 hours agoon
March 7, 2026
Boxing’s worst kept secret has now been confirmed – Naoya Inoue (32-0, 27 KO) and Junto Nakatani (32-0, 24 KO) will meet on May 2 at the Tokyo Dome for Inoue’s undisputed junior featherweight championship.
The all-Japan clash was formally announced at a press conference in Japan. The fight will be broadcast live on Lemino pay-per-view; US distribution rights have not yet been announced.
Inoue – ESPN’s No. 2 pound-for-pound boxer – is coming off an impressive 2025 in which he competed four times, defeating Kim Ye-Joon, Ramon Cardenas, Murodjon Akhmadaliev and David Picasso. Thanks to Inoue’s unanimous decision victory over Picasso in December, Nakatani defeated Sebastian Hernandez in the second fight of the night in a tougher-than-expected fight. Their victories set up a long-awaited clash between two of Japan’s best players.
Nakatani is ranked No. 6 pound-for-pound by ESPN and will look to become a four-division champion after winning world titles at bantamweight, junior bantamweight and flyweight. Although Nakatani narrowly won his junior featherweight debut in a grueling fight against Hernandez, Nakatani proved he was one of the best fighters in the world and had a powerful showing in 2025, winning 3-0.
The Undercard will feature Inoue’s younger brother Takuma defending his WBC bantamweight title against former four-division titleholder Kazuto Ioka.
Boxing
Dan Rafael says IBF president opposed Jai Opetaia Presser
Published
6 hours agoon
March 7, 2026
Jai Opetai’s fight against Brandon Glanton is still moving forward, but veteran reporter Dan Rafael says the issue that caused the IBF title to be removed from the fight had to do with how the belt was presented during fight week. Rafael reported that IBF president Daryl Peoples believes that the organization’s title was shown as secondary to Zuffa’s belt during a recent press conference.
This explanation makes the argument about the presentation rather than the match itself. Rafael wrote that Peoples objected to the way the belts were arranged at the press, with Zuffa’s belt posed for the cameras while Opetaia held the IBF title rather than raising it in the usual manner towards the audience.
“The IBF withdrew sanctions and sent the overseer home after the journalist because IBF President Daryl Peoples felt disrespected by the belt being placed secondary to Zuffa’s,” Rafael wrote on social media.
Fight week photos reflect the arrangement Rafael described. At the final press conference on Friday, Zuffa’s belt was centered and Opetaia held the red IBF title at his side. Saturday’s weigh-in had a similar effect. Zuffa’s belt was raised over the fighters on the restart, while Opetaia continued to hold the IBF Championship on his chest. This sequence appears to have irritated the sanctioning authority.
Rafael also reported another unusual detail related to the fight. Even after the IBF dropped its sanctions, Opetai and Glanton were still expected to adhere to IBF weight rules ahead of the morning fight. Rafael said that no competitor can weigh more than ten pounds over the cruiserweight weight limit of 200.
Rafael later noticed that the IBF belt continued to appear in promotion for the event. Opetaia held the title at media events and discussed it publicly, and graphics broadcast by Zuffa covered the championship. Rafael’s account points to the dispute that raged over Zuffa’s title belt relationship during press events.
Opetaia entered fight week as the IBF cruiserweight champion after regaining the belt in a rematch victory over Mairis Briedis in 2024. The Australian continues to wear the physical belt while promoting his fight against Glanton. Once he steps into the ring and takes part in an unsanctioned fight, the IBF Championship will no longer move forward with him.
The fight remains scheduled, and reports from Rafael indicate that the split was due to belt politics and presentations at public events. The episode shows how rigorously sanctioning bodies guard the status of their championships as modern promoters introduce competitive titles.
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Last update: 2026/03/07 at 15:51
Canelo Alvarez discusses his retirement plan
The Inoue-Nakatani title fight will take place on May 2 at the Tokyo Dome
Dan Rafael says IBF president opposed Jai Opetaia Presser
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