Another day, another delay in getting Dmitry Bivol-Michael Eifert on the books.
BoxingScene has confirmed that a purse bid hearing for a 175lbs title fight between Bivol and Eifert was delayed until Tuesday. The session was scheduled to take place on Friday; this time, it was IBF officials who opted to postpone and reschedule.
The move is in line with IBF purse bid hearings traditionally taking place on Tuesdays.
As is the case for the period preceding a purse bid, a deal can still be reached up until the day of – and even minutes leading up to – the hearing.
All involved parties were granted two prior extensions for this part of the process, though it has not resulted in any significant progress being made in securing a deal. The overdue mandatory title fight was ordered twice already, though it is inevitable to happen this time around.
Either that, or Eifert will get a shot at the vacant belt.
Bivol, 24-1 (12 KOs), inherited Eifert, 13-1 (5 KOs), as the overdue mandatory challenger after his February 2025 majority decision win over Artur Beterbiev.
The win saw Bivol become the undisputed champion and avenge his lone career defeat to Beterbiev, 21-1 (20 KOs), from four months prior. Tuesday’s purse bid hearing will push him past the one-year mark since the Beterbiev fight.
The downtime was spent first waiting out an ordered WBC mandatory title defense versus David Benavidez, before Bivol ultimately relinquished the title. He then underwent back surgery to remove a herniated disc, which kept him shelved for the rest of the year.
Between the rematch with Beterbiev and the medical exception for the herniated disc procedure, Bivol is out of options to step away from his IBF mandatory obligations.
Eifert has been the top-rated IBF contender since his March 2023 upset win over former lineal and WBC champ Jean Pascal. Sadly, he has had only one fight in that span while waiting for this due opportunity to materialize.
