Comments Thread For: Bob Arum Says He Will Not Pursue Beterbiev-Bivol Unification Out of Respect for Conflict In Ukraine

[wrecksracer]

Neither Arum nor the WBC wants Beterbiev to fight Bivol. It's a convenient excuse. I can't really blame Beterbiev. I think he wants the fight. It's not going to happen unless he ditches Arum.

[PittyPat]

Breach of contract, surely? Arum works for Beterbiev, not the other way around. If Beterbiev wants the fight, it's Arum's obligation to give it to him.

[STREET CLEANER]

Arum is only loyal to money. Apparently he does not see enough money and neither does the WBC. This fight is not happening.

[Joseph]

They have a flimsy, built-in excuse locked. Sad. This is THE fight above all other fights for me, personally.

I had Bivol, but wouldn't have been shocked if Beterbiev took it.

[Monty Fisto]

Will they also use the same excuse to keep Bivol from pursuing Canelo's belts at 168?

I'm all for holding the Russians to account, but its seems a fake, unusual and unpersuasive excuse in the case of Beterbiev vs Bivol.

[famicommander]

Beterbiev is more "Russian" than Bivol.

Bivol's father was from Moldova, Bivol's mother was an ethnic Korean born in Kazakhstan, and Bivol was born in Kyrgyzstan and lived there until he was 11. Then they moved to Russia.

Beterbiev was born and raised in Russia.

[baroidi]

hypocrisy of westoids, were American athletes subjected to such unfair treatment when the USA invaded Iraq on a big lie?

[paulf]

“And then you might say, isn’t Beterbiev Russian? And the answer is no, not really, because he has had a residential visa in Canada for 14 years, so I look at him as being Canadian. And he’s [from] Chechnya, and the reason Chechnya is still part of Russia is because ***** bombed the crap out of them and had them succumb to his overwhelming military force. So again, I don’t want to do anything that supports Russia in any way. So I applaud Mauricio for the position that he’s taken.”

[Greenfield02]

Sure, Ukraine is the problem....

[Sosay]

The two biggest Crooks in the game. Who tf cares about the belts. Let them fight. Do like Tennis and no Russian flag but it's ****** to punish athletes. All BS politics. None of this happens when us in the west invades countries without reason. I think they're trying to protect Beterbiev and discourage Nelo because they know Bivol will smoke both.