Beterbiev Postpones Third Fight with Bivol: Will Face Nicholson in November
The expected third fight between Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev has been put on hold indefinitely. It was announced that Beterbiev will return to the ring on November 22 to fight Deon Nicholson.
This fight will be part of the Ring IV “Night of Champions” event card, which will have the main fight between David Benavidez and Anthony Yarde.
Beterbiev, undisputed former light heavyweight champion, is coming off a majority decision loss to Bivol in February, the first of his professional career. Previously, he had defeated Bivol by majority decision to become the undisputed champion in their first encounter last October.
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 move forward, but Beterbiev opted for another 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 had low-level opposition in his professional career, which began in 2016. Facing Beterbiev represents a big jump in competition for Nicholson, whose only loss was by knockout to Efetobor Apochi in 2021.
After the February rematch, 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 to another opponent, it is still unknown whether Bivol will agree to defend the title against Eifert.
