Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol have a new date for their undisputed light-heavyweight clash.
Beterbiev and Bivol were set to finally face each other on June 1 to headline an event with a Queensberry vs Matchroom battle as the undercard.
Beterbiev, who holds the he WBC, IBF and WBO titles, raptured his meniscus in training camp for Bivol and the fight had to be postponed.
With the severity of the injury the clash wasn’t expected to take place until the later months of 2024 or early 2025. However, the man behind big time boxing in Saudi Arabia, Turki Alalshikh announced an earlier than expected date for the fight.
Taking the mic in the ring after Bivol’s stoppage victory against stand-in opponent Malik Zinad, Alalshikh announced that the two best at 175lbs will now meet on October 12 to open Riyadh season in Saudi Arabia.
The fight is considered by many fans and pundits as the best in the sport. Both men are undefeated yet offer a contrasting style. Bivol is viewed as the ultimate boxer whereas Beterbiev is a wrecking ball, boasting a perfect record of 20 wins all by knock out.
With Beterbiev approaching 40 and having suffered injuries of late some will question whteher the recovery time is sufficient.
Turki Alalshikh has made it clear he wants the winner to fight former super-middleweight champion David Benavidez and potentially step up to cruiserweight to face ring magazine champion Jai Opetaia.