Dmitry Bivol says he is not sure if he will leave the lightweight heavyweight division if he achieves his goal of defeating unified three-belt champion Artur Beterbiev and becoming undisputed champion this Saturday night in Riyad.

The two obvious choices for Bivol are to stay at lightweight heavyweight and face WBC interim champion David Benavidez or “regular” WBA champion David Morrell. These would be great fights for the fans and would make Bivol good money. They both have power and there is a good chance that Bivol can be knocked out by either of them.

If Bivol (23-0, 12 KO) decides not to stay at 175 to defend his four belts in a rematch with Canelo Alvarez, he could move up to cruiserweight to challenge IBF champion Jai Opetai for the belt. His Excellency Turki Alalshikh may be interested in a fight between the two.

We don’t know how good Bivol is because he hasn’t fought any killers at 175 pounds and he looks outmatched against bigger fighters. Will he respond well to Beterbiev’s repeated blows, or will he crumble and fall apart?

Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KO) could dash Bivol’s big-fight hopes by knocking him out on Saturday night. This would change the dynamics of some possible fights as Canelo has no interest in fighting Beterbiev and it’s understandable why.

Beterbiev would be a bigger problem for Opetai because the Australian doesn’t react well to difficult shots and he has no inside game to speak of. Turki likes Opetaia and a fight with Beterbiev where he could potentially get knocked out wouldn’t be good for his career. This would reduce Opetai’s popularity, perhaps permanently.

“For me, the stripes are very crucial, first of all because I didn’t have them. Maybe when I get these belts, maybe I will change my mind,” Bivol said in a conversation with journalists Stomping areason how he sees world titles as the most crucial thing to him in his boxing career. “Ever since I came into boxing, I wanted to have all the collections of all the belts.”

If Bivol wins, it does not mean that there are no goals for him, because a rematch with Beterbiev cannot be ruled out. This will be of interest to many fans. Moreover, there are challengers like David Benavidez, David Morrell, Joshua Buatsi and Anthony Yarde who would like to earn a title shot against him.

“I didn’t think too much about what would happen after this fight,” Bivol said when asked if he could move to another division if he beat Artur Beterbiev to become the undisputed 175-pound champion.

“I need to listen to my body to decide what I want to do next after this fight, and then I can tell you.”

“I feel amazing because I’m going to fight for all the belts, and this opportunity is not available to every fighter. Even good fighters couldn’t be that lucky, but I got this fight,” said Dmitry Bivol Boxing King’s Media that he was given a chance to fight for the undisputed lightweight heavyweight title against Artur Beterbiev.

“I want to make history with my coach,” Bivol said.

Keep working 👊🏻

📸 @Maudsakri @turk_alalshikh | @RiyadhSeason | #riyadseason | #BeterbievBivol pic.twitter.com/lnDhLy7QCt

— Artur Beterbiev (@ABeterbiev) October 7, 2024

Boxing will crown its undisputed featherlight heavyweight champion on Saturday night when Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol collide in Riyad.

They are both at the top of the 175-pound weight class and have been for some time, but separating them is a tough proposition.

There will be countless predictions, analyzes and debates this week about a fascinating 50-50 fight where a robust case can be made for either fighter. But what does the boxing industry think? picked the brains of 14 people, from promoters to fighters to broadcasters.

Below is a low selection. To watch more, click on the video.

Ben Whittaker (featherlight heavyweight and 2020 Olympic silver medalist)

“You will probably see interviews [where] I changed and changed. I was very robust towards Beterbiev [and] Beterbiev will probably keep him. But now I’m back in Bivol and I’m thinking about Bivol. Bivol is adolescent, fresher, stays vigorous, can fight close, can fight long and his fitness is good, so I will lean more towards Buffalo“

Shane McGuigan (Head Coach)

“I’m just thinking Beterbiev is in better shape. Bivol looked really good when he boxed Canelo, but he was inactive for some time and didn’t look good in his last fight. Beterbiev looked a little flat and delicate just before boxing Callum Johnson, and then Johnson dropped him. He wasn’t looking well around this time. Now he has recovered. People may say that the Anthony Yard fight was a competitive fight, but that’s not true. He took his foot off the gas pedal, fought in bursts and was very withdrawn that night. And then Callum Smith… Callum is a very good player, so doing this to Callum Smith… is [Beterbiev] in great shape.

Jim Lampley (Lead Commentator and Expert)

“It’s just a great fight. These are two great technicians. They both have power. I think it’s logical to agree with Beterbiev and gain the advantage in striking power. This doesn’t necessarily mean he will win this fight. Bivol, who defeated Canelo Alvarez, extremely confident, commanding his craft, able to choose other options than those in front of him to continue to find success in the slow rounds. He can win this fight. This is 50-50 fight. I can’t wait to see it.”

Jai Opetaia (IBF world cruiserweight champion)

“It’s an amazing fight. Stylistically, a fighter moving forward against a guy who just cuts corners. It’s amazing. As a fan of boxing and the science of the sport… there is a lot of hype around heavyweight fighters because they hit so demanding, but this is chess match and as a science of the sport of boxing, it’s a great fight, a great matchup, and I’m truly honored to be a part of a great fight like this. Any true boxing fan who knows styles and statistics [knows] this fight is massive.”

Gervonta “Tank” Davis now has an official date and location for her second fight of the year.

The No. 8-ranked pound-for-pound fighter will defend his WBA lightweight title against Lamont Roach Jr., who is moving up in weight. Their 12-round fight will be the main attraction of the PBC gala, which will take place on December 14 in the Prime Video Pay-Per-View program at the Toyota Center in Houston, Texas.

The incident was confirmed by PBC on Sunday evening.

Davis (30-0, 28 knockout) will make his second attempt to defend the full version of the WBA lightweight world title. The undefeated Baltimore native previously held the “Regular” version of the belt before being promoted last year following the departure of Devin Haney (31-0, 15 KO; 1 No-Contest) from the division.

Before securing this fight, Davis and his team were looking for a unification fight against reigning IBF lightweight champion Vasily Lomachenko. Such a fight was planned for November, but Lomachenko (18-3, 12 KO) refused and decided to wait out the rest of the year.

Ultimately, a path was created for Roach (25-1-1, 10 knockouts) to enter the equation. The WBA 130-pound world champion was previously summoned at the beginning of the summer for another fight against interim world champion Albert Batyrgaziev. However, a one-time exception was granted to challenge Davis at a higher weight instead.

After the victory, Roach will have to decide whether he will stay at lightweight or return to 130. A loss will force him to face Batyrgaziev (12-0, 8 KO) within 120 days of the Davis fight.

Both Davis and Roach earned eighth-round knockout victories within two weeks of each other against undefeated opponents.

Davis’ moment came against Frank Martin at the PBC Summit on June 15 at Prime PPV in Las Vegas. The fight was fierce until it wasn’t. Davis finally caught up to Martin and knocked him out for the fourth straight time.

On June 28 in Washington, Roach defeated undefeated Feargal McCrory (16-1, 8 KO) in his eighth fight. That night was the first home match in nearly seven years for Roach, the fourth-ranked junior lightweight on The Ring from Upper Marlboro, Maryland.

Before that came his first championship title. Roach scored a dramatic knockout in the 12th round, thanks to which he overtook and eliminated the WBA 130-pound world champion, Hector Luis Garcia (16-2, 10 KO). Overall, Roach won six in a row. His lone loss came by decision in November 2019 to then-WBO junior lightweight champion Jamel Herring in Fresno, California.

Follow @JakeNDaBox