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Boxing

Artur Beterbiev or Canelo Alvarez? Eddie Hearn on Dmitry Bivol's next opponent

Artur Beterbiev or Canelo Alvarez? Eddie Hearn on Dmitry Bivol's next opponentDAZN

For Dmitry Bivol, it looks like there are two fighters he can face next in the eyes of his promoter Eddie Hearn. 

The 31-year-old made another successful defence of his WBA light heavyweight title on Saturday night following an exceptional performance against Gilberto 'Zurdo' Ramirez and now Bivol has a number of options.

One of those being an undisputed showdown with WBC, WBO and IBF 175lb champion Artur Beterbiev, and the other a big money rematch with Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez who Bivol beat this past May. 

When speaking about what could be next for Bivol, Hearn believes the WBA champion will want to create a legacy with a fight against Beterbiev, but it may not be a contest which can be made until the second half of 2023. 

"Firstly, it doesn’t really matter what’s best for me, he’s going to make the decision," Hean told The DAZN Boxing Show

"I have a job to do for Canelo Alvarez, a job to do for Dmitry Bivol, there’s so many things to look at.

"Number one, Dmitry Bivol is definitely about legacy, Beterbiev against Bivol, unbelievable fight, maybe the best fight in boxing.

"You have to look at the timings. Beterbiev is due to fight Yarde end of January, early February, soon after that is Ramadan for Beterbiev, so he’s not going to be available until late summer to fight Bivol.

"So Bivol has got a choice: do you wait for that undisputed fight or do you jump in with Canelo Alvarez?

"Now Canelo Alvarez is also coming off the back of surgery. I believe he might be okay to punch at the end of the year, what if he’s not?

"In an ideal world, I think if you asked Bivol, his choice would be Beterbiev because he wants to be undisputed."

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