Undisputed light heavyweight boxing champion Dmitry Bivol is urged to fight David Benavidez for the World Boxing Council (WBC) 175-lb title otherwise he needs to vacate the belt.
Bivol (24-1, 12 KOs) defeated Artur Beterbiev via majority decision in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia last February 22, 2025 with scores of 115-113, 116-112 and 114-114. Two judges went in favor of Bivol.
There are three boxers who need to challenge Bivol like Canelo Alvarez (rematch), David Benavidez (30 wins and 0 losses, with 24 knockouts), and Callum Smith. It can be recalled that Bivol defeated Canelo last May 7, 2022 via unanimous decision.
“Dimitry Bivol must fight David Benavidez next.” WBC said since Benavidez is a mandatory challenger after he defeated David Morell in Las Vegas last February 1, 2025. Benavidez unified the light heavyweight championship holding interim WBC belt.
As of this writing, there is no answer yet from Bivol camp.
