Artur Beterbiev has questioned suggestions that Dmitry Bivol has already signed to fight him for undisputed.

Before Beterbiev’s win over Callum Smith, reports indicated that Bivol had signed on the dotted line. This increased the pressure on Beterbiev to come out victorious against Smith. The Russian delivered as he stopped the Brit after knocking him down twice in the seventh round.

That was the first time the Brit had been sent to canvas, showing how impressive the performance had been. In his post-fight comments, Beterbiev indicated his intention to fight Bivol for the right to become undisputed. Bob Arum denied claims that the fight is a done deal, but he does expect it to happen. For now, Beterbiev has questioned Bivol’s intentions.

Beterbiev On Bivol

“He always talks like this. For the last five years, he has told everyone that he’s going to fight the next fight with me. He says that he already signed with me the contract. How can he say he signed the contract with me when I have another fight?

"He’s a real boxer, you know? I don’t know nothing about fight date or nothing. He already signed. How did he? It’s always like this with boxers. No, I don’t know that. I tell you. Nobody tells me dates, names. He [Bivol] tells only, but I don’t believe him. He’s not a good guy,” Beterbiev said 

Nevertheless, it is essential to remember the following point. The primary reason why the fight has not been made earlier was due to the WBC’s stance on the Russia-Ukraine war. The organization prevented Russian fighters from fighting for their belt due to the war.

Therefore, it would not be undisputed even if Bivol managed to sign on the dotted line. However, the WBC maintained that Bivol could appeal that process if he wanted. As of now, it appears that this obstacle has disappeared, as fans will likely see the undisputed fight due to the rise of Saudi Arabia in boxing. But at one point, this was unlikely, as Bivol recalled.

Bivol On Beterbiev

“Of course it’s not fair. How can someone say they are the champion of the world, if someone from a certain country can’t fight for your belt, and this guy could be better than you?” “I don’t want to say “Oh let me fight Beterbiev, because I haven’t spent too much time in Russia.

"To be honest, I spent four months of last year in Russia, and the rest of the time all over the world. But this is not the reason I should be allowed to fight him.” “The reason is, don’t mix politics and sport. All my life, I only watch sports news. I’m an athlete, not a politician,” Bivol stated

Saudi Arabia has shown they are willing to make the biggest fights. They put on Tyson Fury vs Francis Ngannou and have also managed to put on Fury vs Oleksandr Usyk, which takes place on February 17, 2024. So it is only a matter of time before Bivol-Beterbiev gets announced.

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