By Steve Kim
Dmitry Bivol (11-0, 9 KOs) has burst onto the scene this year in the light heavyweight division and after blowing out Cedric Agnew in two rounds on the Andre Ward-Sergey Kovalev II pay-per-view undercard on June 17th, plans are being made to finish out his 2017 campaign.
Vadim Kornilov, who heads up his management team, advised BoxingScene.com - "We're planning a fight in November, either in the United States or possibly in Monaco."
Currently, Bivol is the interim-WBA light heavyweight titlist. He was the mandatory challenger to then "regular" champion Nathan Cleverly of Wales. But Cleverly reached a deal to face Badou Jack, who was moving up in weight, last Saturday night as part of the Mayweather-McGregor undercard in Las Vegas. Jack crushed Cleverly in five rounds to capture the title.
Prior to the Jack-Cleverly match-up being finalized, a deal was struck by Bivol's team with Mayweather Promotions (for Jack) and Eddie Hearn (for Cleverly) to allow that fight to proceed.
Now, Jack (22-1-2, 13 KOs) has a mandatory obligation to face Bivol next.
"The WBA has ordered a 15-day negotiation period," said Kornilov. "We'll see how it works out but I figure we'll be fighting somebody from the top fifteen for the vacant title.
The WBA's "super" champion at the weight is Andre Ward, who plans to defend his title in the fall. The sanctioning body is attempting to consolidate the numerous titles that are currently circulating in several divisions - meaning that eventually the Jack vs. Bivol winner will be ordered to face Ward, who also holds the IBF, WBO titles.
Steve Kim is the news editor for BoxingScene.com
