Vadim Kornilov, manager for WBA light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol, is still trying to lock down an opponent for his boxer’s next fight.
The search has been difficult, with Bivol being inactive since November 2022, when he dominated mandatory challenger Gilberto Ramirez over twelve rounds to secure a wide unanimous decision.
There was heavy talk of a rematch with Mexican superstar Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez, who Bivol decisioned back in May of last year. The two sides had issues agreeing on several important points – including the money and the contract weight. Canelo would eventually go in another direction by signing a multi-fight agreement with Premier Boxing Champions.
Bivol is targeting a ring return in the coming months, with ongoing discussions to lock down an opponent.
“The priority is to return to the ring in October or November. There is no confirmed date yet, and there are several reasons for this. The main one concerns the general will of our team, some circumstances…. it is difficult to find an opponent – but there are some developments, searches and the negotiations are ongoing,” Kornilov said to Ivan Orekhov.
“We have to look for any option, someone who would want to enter the ring and someone who the fans would want to see in the arena and on TV. There were few such options, like Dan Azeez, Joshua Buatsi, but both refused and decided to fight each other. In addition, there is also the fight with Jaime Mungia: Maybe we will circle back to this option [in the future] – we are currently searching, we are in the process of agreeing with someone and making sure that Dmitry returns to the ring as soon as possible. Right now he is holding an intermediate training camp, preparing for the main camp to the fight.”
Credit: BoxingScene