Dmitry Bivol puts his WBA light heavyweight title on the line on Saturday, December 23 at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, where he faces Lyndon Arthur. Kyrgyzstan’s world champion and British contender battle it out on the “Day of Reckoning” fight card live on DAZN.
Undefeated Bivol (21-0, 11 KOs), who turned 33 on December 18, last fought in November 2022 in Abu Dhabi, where he defeated Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez by unanimous decision. In May the same year, the native of Tokmok, Kyrgyzstan caused an upset in Las Vegas, when he scored a UD against Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.
Once-beaten Arthur (23-1, 16 KOs) was in action in September in Bolton, England, where he KO’d Braian Nahuel Suarez in the 10th round and landed the vacant IBO strap. Riding a four-fight winning streak, Manchester’s 32-year-old makes his first attempt to claim one of four major titles.
“Every time I get in the ring, I think like this is the best opponent that I will face, and this is the hardest fight of my career,” said Dmitry Bivol. “It helps me to be focused and take my training camp seriously.”
“Preparation for this fight has been good. I spent my time in Kyrgyzstan for my training camp. It was a nice time and I had good sparring. I had my last sparring on Monday before my fight on Saturday. Everything is good.”
“Lyndon Arthur a good fighter and he’s a well-schooled boxer. He uses his jab a lot and he moves well. This is going to be a good challenge for me. His record and his IBO belt are an extra motivation for me.”
“I try to be the best version of myself every time I get in the ring. I hope we’re going to win another title. It’s a new challenge for me. Then I can celebrate my birthday properly. My celebration on Monday was two training sessions!”
Dmitry Bivol: We discussed undisputed
If successful against Arthur, in his following fight Bivol eyes to face Artur Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KOs) for the undisputed crown. Montreal, Canada-based unified WBC, WBO and IBF champion is scheduled for his next title defense on January 13 in Québec City against former super middleweight champion Callum Smith (29-1, 21 KOs) of England.
Bivol and Beterbiev went face to face in October ahead of the Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou showdown also held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
“It’s a big goal and when we signed the contract we discussed not only fighting against Lyndon Arthur, we discussed about another fight too for four belts,” Dmitry Bivol said. “We discussed undisputed. They want to make this fight and they can make this fight. This is really good for me. It’s what I need.”
In the main event of “Day of Reckoning”, British former two-time unified heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (26-3, 23 KOs) takes on Swedish contender Otto Wallin (26-1, 14 KOs). In the co-main event, American former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (43-2-1, 42 KOs) meets former WBO champion Joseph Parker (33-3, 23 KOs) of New Zealand.
Also on the card, British former WBA heavyweight champion Daniel Dubois (19-2, 18 KOs) goes up against undefeated Jarrell Miller (26-0-1, 22 KOs) of the US. In addition, Australia’s undefeated former IBF cruiserweight champion Jai Opetaia (23-0, 18 KOs) squares off against unbeaten Ellis Zorro (17-0, 7 KOs) of England.
In Australia, Joshua vs Wallin airs live on Sunday, December 24.
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