SPORTS FACTS AND FIGURES 27: WILL WBC SANCTION ARTUR BETERBIEV VS. DMITRY BIVOL?
By Maloney L. Samaco
PhilBoxing.com
Sat, 27 Jan 2024
The President of the World Boxing Council refused to make a statement on the stand of his organization on the much awaited light heavyweight title unification between Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
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Beterbiev, the WBC, WBO, IBF light heavyweight champion, and Bivol, the WBA light heavyweight king, are slated to fight probably this summer in Saudi Arabia, the new capital of highly financed fights in professional boxing. The question is if the fight will be for the undisputed title and the answer is yet unknown.
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Due to Russia's waging war against Ukraine, WBC head Sulaiman declared that the sanctioning body would desist from ranking any Russian or Belarussian fighter, and avoid sanctioning any fights in Russia or Belarus. Sulaiman previously announced that the WBC would not give their consent to a Beterbiev vs. Bivol undisputed fight because Bivol is a Russian citizen.
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Surprisingly, Sulaiman granted exemption for Beterbiev from this order because of Beterbiev’s Canadian citizenship, since Beterbiev has settled in Quebec for more than ten years.
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Beterbiev’s promoter, Bob Arum, also has altered his stand on the undisputed match. Beterbiev ferociously defeated Callum Smith with a punishing knockout of the Englishman for the first time in his career 70 seconds into the seventh round.
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Arum indicated that a deal for Beterbiev vs. Bivol was in the works, spearheaded by Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh, the powerful sports czar who has arranged several high-profile matchups in the past months in the oil-rich desert kingdom.
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In Pro Box TV, Sulaiman did not mention anymore of his uncompromising viewpoint he had stood before. He refused to discuss it saying that the WBC is undergoing a “process within the board of governors” that would eventually open into a conclusion regarding the proposed fight.
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Roy Jones Jr. commented that IBF welterweight champion Jaron "Boots" Ennis could be a “very difficult fight” for the 36-year-old Terence Crawford at this stage of his career. He views the 26-year-old Boots Ennis as a serious threat to Crawford and capable of knocking the Nebraska native off his throne after just five months of sitting in the King’s spot after his win over Errol Spence Jr. last July.
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Several fans had observed that Spence was not the usual talented fighter he was five years ago, before a horrifying car accident in 2019. Jones Jr. believes that the skills of the undefeated Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs), can beat the former two-time undisputed champion Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs).
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Sports History: January 27, 1953. Archie Moore retained his world light heavyweight title over former world champion Joey Maxim.
Click here to view a list of other articles written by Maloney L. Samaco.
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