Dmitry Bivol Vacates WBC Title To Sidestep David Benavidez, Prioritizing Lucrative Artur Beterbiev Trilogy – Boxing News 24

Undisputed light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol will be vacating his WBC 175-lb title to avoid tomorrow’s purse bid on April 8th for his WBC-ordered fight against mandatory David Benavidez in favor of taking the lucrative mega-million trilogy match against Artur Beterbiev.

It’s a move that had been protected because Benavidez (30-0, 24 KOs) is a terrible style matchup for the 34-year-old Bivol and would likely beat him and take some of the shine out of his trilogy match with Artur Beterbiev.

Going up against David Benavidez, 28, would be too much for Bivol, and it’s good that he knows his limitations. Even if Dmitry is victorious against Artur, it’s unlikely that he’ll willingly agree to fight Benavidez because his style doesn’t match up well with his.

The Beterbiev Trilogy

The Ring reports that Bivol will “proceed with the Artur Beterbiev trilogy.” That’s a fight that Turki wants, and it’s one that will pay well for Bivol. If there was more money in the Benavidez fight, it’s obvious that Bivol would go in that direction despite it being a contest that would be an absolute nightmare for him.

Fans on social media are ambivalent about this news, as many of them are tired of seeing Bivol and Beterbiev fight it out in chess matches that resemble a wolf chasing a rabbit around the forest. Artur won the first fight on October 12th last year and fought well enough to earn a draw in the rematch on February 22nd but was given a raw deal by the judges.

I have just received a cold and impersonal notification from Dmitry Bivol lawyer, Patrick English, with arguments that are so ridiculous that I rather not discuss informing the WBC that Dmitry Bivol has decided to relinquish his WBC light heavyweight championship. We wish Bivol…

— Mauricio Sulaiman (@wbcmoro) April 7, 2025

I scored it a draw. That was a weird fight. Beterbiev dominated the fight with ease in rounds 2 through 6, but then stopped throwing punches from rounds 7 through 11.

Then all of a sudden, Beterbiev turned on his offense in round 12, and beat the living daylights out of Bivol, having him close to being knocked out. It was like turning on a light switch. Beterbiev fought the same way in the 12th as he had in rounds 2 through 6.

It looked very strange. Was he trying to lose the fight so that he could ensure there would be a trilogy? That’s what some boxing fans believe. All I can say is it was bizarre that he would dominate so effortlessly in the first half, then stop throwing punches for the next five rounds until the 12th.

If Beterbiev fights aggressively like he did in the final round, Bivol doesn’t stand a chance in the trilogy because he’s too fragile to stand up to his power shots. The same would happen if Bivol fought David Benavidez, but it would be much quicker. He wouldn’t allow him to make it to the second half the way Artur did.

There was no chance that Bivol would willingly take on the Mexican Monster Benavidez and get chopped down within six rounds. He wouldn’t risk that big payday against Beterbiev.

As WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman reports, David Benavidez has now been elevated to full champion now that Bivol has vacated. It’s too bad that we didn’t have a proper method for Benavidez to capture the WBC title, but what can you do? Bivol could have fought Benavidez, but he chose to take the trilogy match with Beterbiev. The winner of that fight can always take on Benavidez later on, and it would be an exciting fight for the fans.