“If His Excellency wants, we will do,” undisputed light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev said about a rematch after clinching a majority decision victory over former WBA champion Dmitry Bivol. “Why not, it is my dream to be undisputed,” said Bivol on the same subject. However, that might not be the next fight for both fighters, according to Bob Arum. 

The duo locked horns on September 12th in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, in a closely contested 12-round battle. The contest saw Beterbiev barely edge out Bivol. Many cried foul, hearing the decision, suggesting it was yet another robbery. Regardless, this contentious decision perfectly set the stage for their rematch in the coming year. 

While appearing in the Fight Freaks Unite podcast with acclaimed journalist Dan Rafael, the Top Rank honcho highlighted His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s desire to see a rematch between the two boxers. However, “Because the Riyadh Season [starts in October and] ends in February, the earliest date for a rematch would be next October.”

Rafael noted that the Saudi royal has hosted fights out of Riyadh on other dates, underscoring the original date for the Beterbiev vs. Bivol fight in June and the Terence Crawford vs. Israel Madrimov fight in August was held in Los Angeles. “But that is not what they’re going to do in the future,” Arum quickly responded. 

“I think there was a lot of pushback on His Excellency for doing fights outside of Saudi Arabia and outside of Riyadh Season.” Arum further claimed in the future the Saudis will host fights in their country to tap into their larger budget, adding, “So, it may mean that each of these guys fight one more time against other opponents, and then for October of next year, they do the rematch.” 

While Bivol might be eager to get back in action right away, if this update from Arum holds true—Beterbiev will fight his mandatory. 

Artur Beterbiev may fight this German boxer before Dmitry Bivol

Recent updates suggest the 39-year-old may face Germany’s Michael Eifert before his much-anticipated rematch with Dmitry Bivol. This comes after the IBF ordered Beterbiev to start negotiations for a mandatory title defense. However, Bivol’s legal team seems to have intervened with a request to IBF and other sanctioning bodies. 

His legal team has requested the sanctioning bodies to approve a rematch between them instead, keeping hopes alive for a showdown. According to a report from Sky Sports, the IBF has confirmed that they are open to granting a special exception for a Bivol rematch. However, if this doesn’t work out for some reason, Beterbiev could do what Oleksandr Usyk did. 

Beterbiev could vacate the IBF title to fight Bivol for the remaining titles. Bivol’s promoter Matchroom Boxing honcho Eddie Hearn has been pushing hard for a rematch, suggesting his boxers deserve to be the undisputed champion. 

Having said that, the future of the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol rematch doesn’t seem all that clear. However, further updates on the matter may shed more light on what’s coming. When do you think the rematch should happen?