Beterbiev vs. Nicholson: The Third Fight with Bivol Awaits
The expected third fight between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev has been postponed indefinitely. Tuesday’s announcement revealed that Beterbiev will return to the ring on November 22 to face Deon Nicholson.
This fight will be part of the “Night of Champions” event card organized by Ring IV, which will feature the duel between David Benavidez and Anthony Yarde as the main event.
Beterbiev, undisputed light heavyweight champion, comes to this fight after suffering a majority decision loss to Bivol in February. This was the first loss in his professional career. Previously, Beterbiev had defeated Bivol by majority decision in their first encounter last October to become undisputed champion.
Instead of continuing with Riyadh Season as its promoter, Beterbiev and Bivol sought to have their trilogy take place in Russia with different organizers. Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, gave his approval for the Russian boxers to proceed with their plans, but Beterbiev opted for a different opponent.
Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs), 40 years old, will face a relatively unknown rival, Nicholson (22-1, 18 KOs), and is expected to be the clear betting favorite. Nicholson, 34 years old and originally from Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has faced low-level opponents in his professional career, which began in 2016. This fight represents a big jump in the quality of competition for Nicholson, whose only loss was by knockout to Efetobor Apochi in 2021.
After their rematch in February, Beterbiev and Bivol failed to reach an agreement for a third fight, and Beterbiev expressed his frustration on social media. Bivol, who relinquished the WBC title rather than face Benavidez, was ordered by the IBF to defend his title against Michael Eifert in a mandatory defense. Although Beterbiev has decided to move on with another opponent, it is still unknown whether Bivol will agree to defend the title against Eifert.
