LAS VEGAS – Despite the knee injury that forced three-belt light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev to withdraw from his planned June 1 undisputed title fight in Saudi Arabia, WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol wants to keep the date and his main event.
“We have no reason to not fight. We have been in camp for two months now,” Bivol’s manager, Vadim Kornilov, told BoxingScene in a Saturday text message.
Bivol (22-0, 11 KOs), named the 2022 Fighter of the Year after defeating Canelo Alvarez by unanimous decision, was set to top the loaded June 1 card that features the “5 versus 5” tournament pitting fighters from the teams of rival British promoters Eddie Hearn and Frank Warren.
Late Friday, promoter Top Rank announced WBC-IBF-WBO champion Beterbiev (20-0, 20 KOs) suffered a torn meniscus in training, forcing him out of the June 1 date – with the hope being that he would return by the end of the year to fight Bivol.
Kornilov said he expects to review and consider possible replacement opponents Sunday, choosing not to immediately discuss any potential candidates.
He added that he believes “things will stay as planned,” with Bivol remaining in the main-event spot “with another opponent.”
The “5 versus 5” tournament includes heavyweight fights between former champion Deontay Wilder against China’s Zhilei Zhang and Filip Hrgovic versus Daniel Dubois along with a featherweight title fight between Nick Ball and Raymond Ford.
