Dmitry Bivol: record, next fight and profile →
Demetrius Andrade successfully defended his WBO world middleweight title on an evening that it was also revealed that WBA world light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol had signed a deal with DAZN and would square off against the man who ended Bernard Hopkins career, Joe Smith Jr.
Bivol, Smith Press Conference Photos Gallery - Days after signing a promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing USA, undefeated WBA World Light Heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol will make his fifth title defense against Joe Smith Jr. on March 9 at Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, New York. This card will also feature WBO Super Lightweight titlist Maurice Hooker defending his belt against undefeated challenger Mikkel LesPierre. The fighters gathered at Madison Square Garden this afternoon to discuss the upcoming stacked card, which will be streamed live exclusively on DAZN. (photos by Ed Mulholland).
All within the last 24 hours, Dmitry Bivol’s debut on DAZN has landed a chief supporting bout and—most importantly—a home. The unbeaten 28-year old from Russia will next defend his light heavyweight title versus Joe Smith Jr. in a March 9 bout that will mark his first on DAZN, with whom he signed an exclusive deal. The bout will take place at the Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York.
Dmitry Bivol and World of Boxing have signed a promotional deal with Matchroom Boxing USA and the Russian will defend his WBA World Light-Heavyweight title against Joe Smith Jr live on DAZN in the US and on Sky Sports in the UK in March.
Dmitry Bivol’s DAZN debut has been scheduled for March 9. Multiple sources have informed BoxingScene.com that Bivol will defend his WBA light heavyweight title that night against Joe Smith Jr. Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, is among the sites under consideration for that card, but the venue hadn’t been finalized as of Tuesday afternoon.
Two-division champion Badou Jack, all things being even, prefers a fight with WBA titleholder Dmitry Bivol over counterparts Artur Beterbiev (IBF), Oleksandr Gvozdyk (WBC) or Eleider Alvarez (WBO) should he get beyond a January 19 clash with Sir” Marcus Browne for the WBA’s vacant interim title at the MGM Grand in his hometown of Las Vegas on Showtime Pay Per View.
The next fight of the WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol is scheduled for a date in March and the contest will be held in the United States, and his opponent will be announced after the holidays, according to the Russian boxer's manager Vadim Kornilov.
WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol of Russia is not surprised with the level of talent to come out of Ukraine in the last few years. Vasiliy Lomachenko, Artem Dalakian, Oleksandr Usyk and Oleksandr Gvozdyk are fierce world champions who are widely regarded as some of the best fighters in the world. There are several others from Ukraine who are rising up in the ranks.
WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol was very impressed with the recent performance of Oleksandr Gvozdyk, who traveled to Canada and captured the WBC world title with an eleventh round knockout of longtime champion Adonis Stevenson.
The last “World Championship Boxing” broadcast of HBO’s 45-year run in boxing drew lower ratings Saturday night than its previous such telecast. Nielsen Media Research ratings released Wednesday indicated that HBO’s main event, Dmitry Bivol’s victory over Jean Pascal, attracted a peak audience of 537,000 viewers. An average audience of 467,000 watch the Bivol-Pascal telecast from Atlantic City, New Jersey.