Dmitry Bivol says that he is willing to drop down to super-middleweight to face world champion Callum Smith and become a two-weight world champion as he plots his future in the latest episode of Matchroom Boxing’s Podcast ‘The Lockdown Tapes’.
Bivol (17-0 11 KOs) has held the WBA light-heavyweight crown for over two and a half years with six successful defenses over that time, and the Russian ace has been chasing a major showdown with the likes of fellow countryman and champion Artur Beterbiev.
The 29-year-old’s appetite for a crunch clash has also caused his eyes to look to the 168lbs division too, where an old amateur foe Callum Smith holds the WBA belt, and one of boxing’s elite draws, Canelo Alvarez, has also operated recently.
Bivol’s preference is to remain at 175lbs and unify the division first, but he’s put the super-middleweight division on red alert by asserting that he could make the weight with ease.
“I watch a lot of fights in my division,” said Bivol. “I know that Beterbiev is one of the more dangerous fighters because he is really strong. If I were to fight Beterbiev I would like it to be in the USA because more people can see this fight than if I fight in Russia.
“Canelo at super-middleweight is a big fight but everyone wants to fight him. He is just a man, he is just a boxer. You can earn money with him and it is a good opportunity to show your boxing skills to the whole world because of his massive fan base.
“I would prefer the fight at 175lbs as it’s my weight but I could move down to 168lbs, that’s not a big problem for me. I had breakfast before my last fight on weigh-in day and think I have the reserves to come down.
“I boxed Callum Smith in Hungary as an amateur and to be honest I don’t remember this fight at all! At the time, he was just a tall guy, with good skills from Great Britain and I had to beat him. I think in the pro’s if we were to fight now it would be great for the British and Russian fans. It is a good fight for boxing because he is a champion at 168lbs and I am a champion at 175lbs. I want to fight the best in the world and he is now one of the best.”
Please don’t. Bad things happened to those who moved down.
Shouldn’t have to move out of a natural weight class to move into a made up one. The eight weight classes of old made for much more of the best fighting the best-anything over 160 is really a lightheavyweight.
Bivol is too much of a fighter for Callum Smith, especially if he can made the 168 with not much sacrifice, even worse yet at 175, where inevitably Smith will has to move because he is too big for 168. I don’t see Hearn willing to stage this highly risky fight with not much money in return, while having on hand better options
I miss boxing (Sigh)
There’d be nothing to gain for Smith. If Smith moved up and fought Bivol at LH it would be a different matter but if Smith beat Bivol at SM it would be said that Bivol was compromised by weight issues.
It could be an idea to rematch Ryder
1 – To try and erase his last performance
2 – There could be issues with overseas travel off the back of Covid19
Sorry but Bivol is a boring fighter, fighting Smith would just everyone to sleep and he would lose.
Smith in 2!
Bivol hardly ever loses a round. He’s far too good for the likes of Callum Smith.
I like Bivol. He is an excellent fighter who just needs a break out fight. I think a fight between Bivol and Canelo would be really interesting, especially if they fight at LH.
Why I found odd is that he is mentioning Smith, but keep silent about Beterbiev
At least Bivol says he’d prefer to unify at 175. I like a good matchup as good as the next guy, but when there are good to great matchups in your current weight class then I’d prefer to see them. If Bivol can’t get Beterbiev, then I have no issue with him moving to168 for Smith and nobody can blame him if the red headed pot of gold will fight him.