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The film Lean Dmitry Bivol caused a storm among fans after back surgery

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Image: Will Bivol Dodge Benavidez? Stevenson Says It is a Huge Fight, But Promoters May Block It

Today, a video was published on social media showing a slim Dmitry Bivol exercising on a ponderous bag. Three-belt airy heavyweight champion Bivol (24-1, 12 KO) is returning from back surgery last August for a herniated disc in his lower back.

Slimmer appearance

Fans have noticed that Bivol’s figure has atrophied, making him no longer resemble the muscular airy heavyweight champion who defeated Artur Beterbiev on February 22, 2025. Some of them doubt whether Dmitry will be able to come back from spine surgery and remain champion when he faces Arthur in the long-awaited trilogy.

Bivol wouldn’t be the first player to have his career ruined due to back problems. A classic example is middleweight Dmitry Pirog. After defeating rising Daniel Jacobs by fifth-round knockout on July 31, 2010, Pirog suffered a career-ending back injury. Pirog was preparing for the fight with Gennady Golovkin, which was to take place on August 25, 2012 on HBO.

Why is Beterbiev in no hurry?

Bivol is currently undergoing rehabilitation and will be sidelined until the first quarter of 2026. However, he will not be rushing into a trilogy with Artur Beterbiev or an undisputed championship fight against WBC champion David Benavidez.

The 34-year-old Bivol is expected to undergo a brief rehabilitation period before his third fight with his nemesis Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KO). Dmitry wants to make sure his back has been fully tested in the grueling fight before he faces Beterbiev again.

Even if Bivol never had back problems, the Arthur trilogy would be a nightmare for him. Beterbiev clearly admitted the mistakes he made in losing by a slim majority by 12 rounds to Bivol on February 22 in Riyad earlier this year. He is expected to be more aggressive in the trilogy and not take his foot off the gas pedal like he did between rounds 7 and 11 last February.

Tuning plans for 2026

No opponent was mentioned to replace Bivol in the first quarter of 2026, but it likely won’t be anyone top-tier at 175 pounds. It would be too risky. Bivol just needs to remove the rust and fully test his back in combat conditions.

Instead of facing the then mandatory Benavidez, Bivol vacated the WBC title in April 2025. He did it because he planned to fight in a trilogy with Beterbiev. A back injury delayed these plans. The WBC then elevated “The Mexican Monster” Benavidez to the airy heavyweight title through its organization.

Benavidez must wait

Bivol could decide to fight Benavidez to try to regain the undisputed 175 championship. That fight will likely have to wait until 2027 at the earliest. Bivol has preparations for early 2026, followed by a trilogy with Beterbiev in the second half of next year.

For his part, former undisputed airy heavyweight champion Beterbiev is busy fighting Deon Nicholson (22-1, 18 KO) in a 10-round fight on the Benavidez vs. fight card. Anthony Yarde on November 22, 2025 at the ANB Arena in Riyad. The event will be broadcast live on DAZN PPV.

Last update: 18/10/2025

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Davies vs Collins & Heaney vs Warburton II Results: Full Fight Recap

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"Davies vs Collins & Heaney vs Warburton II Results: Full Fight Recap"

World Boxing News provides results and updates as Liam Davies faces Nathaniel Collins in the main event at bp pulse LIVE in Birmingham.

Davies and Collins collide over 12 rounds for the EBU European featherweight title at the top of the Queensberry Promotions card.

Luke McCormack faces Kay Prospere for the vacant British super lightweight title, while Bradley Goldsmith takes on Amir Abubaker for the IBF International middleweight title.

WBN provides results and updates from every bout as they happen.


Results

All times are local BST.

23:11

Gerome Warburton defeated Nathan Heaney for the second time running as the middleweight put an exclamation mark on his first victory.

Heaney walks away from the sport having been an entertainer through a long carer, without reaching the heights of a world title.

22:04

Liam Davies improved to 19-1 after Nathaniel Collins retired at the end of the seventh round due to a cut over his right eye. Collins had also been dropped in the opening round as Davies successfully defended the European featherweight title.

21:22

Bradley Goldsmith improved to 17-1 with a seventh-round stoppage of Amir Abubaker to retain his IBF International middleweight title. Abubaker went down in the fourth and three times in the seventh before the finish at 2:42.

20:10

Lewis Richardson improved to 3-0 with a shutout six-round points victory over Ivan Trofimovich, earning a 60-54 decision.

19:56

Luke McCormack moved to 6-0 and claimed the vacant British super lightweight title with a tenth-round knockout of Kay Prospere, who was counted out after a right uppercut at 1:28.

18:55

Michael Hussain moved to 5-0 with a four-round points victory over Nabil Ahmed, earning a 39-38 decision.

18:11

Nelson Birchall moved to 12-0 with a third-round stoppage of Lewis Morris, who went down before the finish came at 1:12. Lasha Guruli also remained unbeaten at 5-0 after edging Hughie Wilson 77-75 over eight rounds.

17:22

Early action saw John Tom Varey and Reese Lynch claim four-round victories to move to 3-0 and 5-0 respectively.


TV Coverage

DAZN provides full worldwide coverage.

Follow WBN’s live boxing coverage throughout the event.


About the Author

Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.

Read Phil Jay’s full bio and latest stories.

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Janibek Alimkhanuly Shifts Perspective on Hamzah Sheeraz: A New Dynamic in Boxing

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"Janibek Alimkhanuly Shifts Perspective on Hamzah Sheeraz: A New Dynamic in Boxing"

Janibek Alimkhanuly spent months trying to get Hamzah Sheeraz into the ring. Now that Sheeraz has vacated his WBO super middleweight title, Janibek is asking fans to stop saying the former champion ran from him. That is generous. It also leaves Janibek with less to say about a fight he wanted badly.

Janibek’s tone has changed since the purse bid. He was eager to fight, said money was not his priority, and publicly pushed Sheeraz to accept. Queensberry then bid $1,001,809 to stage the ordered defense, beating Top Rank’s $820,000 offer. Sheeraz’s 75 percent share would have been roughly $751,000. Days later, he gave up the belt.

That sequence deserves a closer look. Queensberry put a serious number on the fight, so the bid itself cannot be dismissed as proof that nobody valued it. But winning the right to promote a title defense means little to fans when the champion vacates before it happens.

Sheeraz has objected to Janibek receiving a mandatory shot after his failed drug test. He is entitled to explain that position. Fans are equally entitled to ask why the issue reached a purse bid before he surrendered the title. Janibek’s post supplies no answer.

Perhaps Janibek sees no benefit in branding Sheeraz a coward. Doing so would also make the opponent he chased sound less valuable. Calling Sheeraz a great fighter preserves the idea that this was an important contest, even after the belt and the fight slipped away.

The respect between them may be sincere. Janibek still gets no Sheeraz fight, and Sheeraz no longer has to defend his title against Janibek. A friendly photo does not change either result.

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Boxing247.com is an independent boxing news publication covering the sport since 2001. It provides original reporting, fight analysis, schedules, results, and informed coverage of major fighters and events worldwide, backed by more than 25 years of professional boxing journalism.

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Virginia Confirms Decision to Erase Prichard Colón Loss from Records

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Virginia Confirms Decision to Erase Prichard Colón Loss from Records

Virginia has given World Boxing News its final answer on whether Prichard Colón’s last professional defeat can still be challenged, bringing an end to WBN’s long fight to have the result annulled and removed from his record.

WBN has pursued the possibility of changing the controversial disqualification defeat to Terrel Williams, with those efforts continuing following Colón’s death at age 33.

Virginia’s Department of Professional and Occupational Regulation previously explained that a decision can only be overturned if there is proven collusion, a scorecard error, or a regulatory violation that affected the result.

WBN pressed Eric Beidel, Communications & Digital Media Manager for the Department of Professional & Occupational Regulation, on whether any avenue remained to challenge the decision.

“And on that final question … as mentioned before, a decision can only be overturned if there is proven collusion, a scorecard error, or a regulatory violation that affected the results,” Beidel graciously responded after providing WBN with transparent answers throughout the investigation.

“In addition, a complaint about a regulatory violation must be filed within three years of the alleged violation.”

The Colón-Williams fight took place on October 17, 2015, meaning that deadline expired years ago.

Virginia Closes Appeal Route

Virginia’s response also addressed whether the result could instead be challenged through an appeal.

“The Administrative Process Act (APA) does create appeal rights to case decisions, but because DPOR never received a complaint in this instance, there was no case or decision that could be appealed under the APA.”

The deadline for filing a complaint about a regulatory violation has expired, while the absence of an original complaint means there is no case decision available to appeal under the APA.

For WBN, Virginia’s response ends a long fight to have the defeat annulled and removed from Colón’s professional record.

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WBN’s Fight for Prichard Colón

It is no secret that WBN and Prichard were close before the most tragic night of his career ended all contact and left us on the outside for the years leading up to his death.

That never stopped WBN from reporting on Prichard, campaigning for change and hoping lessons from what happened to him could help prevent another fighter and family from enduring the same tragedy.

Virginia’s final response may end WBN’s attempts to have the result changed, but it does not end our commitment to Prichard.

Prichard Colón will not be forgotten.

WBN will continue to keep his name alive whenever and wherever possible with the WBN Boxer Pageand push to ensure his fight for life and everything that happened in its aftermath are never allowed to simply disappear from boxing’s memory.

This investigation ends here, but Prichard’s story does not.


About the Author

Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.

Read Phil Jay’s full bio and latest stories.

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