{"id":324996,"date":"2025-12-19T17:15:16","date_gmt":"2025-12-19T17:15:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/324996\/"},"modified":"2025-12-19T17:15:16","modified_gmt":"2025-12-19T17:15:16","slug":"dmitry-bivol-targeting-march-2026-return-after-surgery","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/324996\/","title":{"rendered":"Dmitry Bivol Targeting March 2026 Return After Surgery"},"content":{"rendered":"

Bivol has three mandatory challengers waiting for his remaining titles. He gave up his WBC when he had David Benavidez as the mandatory for that belt. It\u2019s understandable why Bivol chose to give up the title. That would have been a hard fight for him.<\/p>\n

Bivol\u2019s three mandatorys<\/p>\n

Michael Eifert \u2013 IBF
\nDavid Benavidez \u2013 WBA
\nCallum Smith \u2013 WBO<\/p>\n

The WBO situation is still in flux, as interim champion Smith has a defense ordered against David Morrell next. The winner of that fight will be the WBO mandatory.<\/p>\n

Why a Mandatory Makes Sense for the Return<\/p>\n

IBF mandatory, Michael Eifert, hasn\u2019t beaten any notable opposition during his seven-year pro career, for him to get in the position as Bivol\u2019s mandatory. If that\u2019s Bivol\u2019s next fight in mandatory, it would be like a tune-up-level fight.<\/p>\n

Given that Dmitry will be returning from back surgery and a 13-month layoff, Eifert would be an ideal fit to ease his return. It would be riskier if Bivol came off the layoff and fought Artur Beterbiev in their trilogy.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe first fight back may be a smaller fight than [the Artur Beterbiev trilogy], maybe one of his mandatory defenses,\u201d said promoter Eddie Hearn<\/a> about Dmitry Bivol\u2019s next fight in 2026.<\/p>\n

Bivol can\u2019t afford to relinquish any more titles, as they are what validate him now. Many fans view David Benavidez as the top fighter in the division. However, Bivol holds all those titles, and that gives him credibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s got quite a few of them. One is Callum Smith, one is Michael Eifert, WBA I think has a mandatory as well. He would\u2019ve been out of the ring \u2014 he won\u2019t fight before March \u2014 so he would\u2019ve been out of the ring for a year and would\u2019ve had a couple of operations,\u201d said Hearn.<\/p>\n

Hearn promotes Callum Smith, but he can\u2019t push for him to be next for Bivol until after he faces David Morrell.<\/p>\n

Robert Segal has been a key voice at Boxing News 24 for more than a decade, delivering fight news, previews, and analysis with a direct, insider edge. His work highlights champions, contenders, and rising talent from around the world, offering readers a clear understanding of where each fighter stands in the sport\u2019s shifting landscape. Known for his sharp ringside perspective and straightforward reporting style, Robert consistently brings fans closer to the action with knowledgeable, no-nonsense coverage.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Bivol has three mandatory challengers waiting for his remaining titles. He gave up his WBC when he had…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":324997,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[41],"tags":[2560,101,56,54,55],"class_list":["post-324996","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-boxing","tag-boxing","tag-sports","tag-uk","tag-united-kingdom","tag-unitedkingdom"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324996","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=324996"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/324996\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/324997"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=324996"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=324996"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/uk\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=324996"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}