Bivol willing to drop down to 168 for shot at Smith

Press Release

13/05/2020

Bivol willing to drop down to 168 for shot at Smith

WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol says that he is willing to drop down to super middleweight to face WBA champion Callum Smith and become a two-weight champion. [Editor's note: everyone seems to be calling out Smith because Smith looked bad in his last fight, a debatable win over John Ryder.] Bivol plots his future in the latest episode of Matchroom Boxing’s Podcast ‘The Lockdown Tapes’.  Bivol (20-0 including the World Series of Boxing) has held the WBA crown for over two and a half years with six successful defenses over that time.
 
The 29 year-old Bivol’s preference is to remain at 175 pounds and unify the division first, but he’s considering the super middleweight division, asserting that he could make the weight with ease. “I watch a lot of fights in my division,” said Bivol. “I know that Beterbiev is one of the more dangerous fighters because he is really strong. If I were to fight Beterbiev I would like it to be in the USA because more people can see this fight than if I fight in Russia.
 
“Canelo Alvarez at super middleweight is also a big fight but everyone wants to fight him. He is just a man, he is just a boxer. You can earn money with him and it is a good opportunity to show your boxing skills to the whole world because of his massive fan base. I would prefer the fight at 175 as it’s my weight but I could move down to 168, that’s not a big problem for me. I had breakfast before my last fight on weigh-in day and think I have the reserves to come down.
 
“I boxed Callum Smith in Hungary as an amateur and to be honest I don’t remember this fight at all! At the time, he was just a tall guy, with good skills from Great Britain and I had to beat him. I think in the pro’s if we were to fight now it would be great for the British and Russian fans. It is a good fight for boxing because he is a champion at 168 pounds and I am a champion at 175 pounds. I want to fight the best in the world and he is now one of the best.”