IBA Says Bivol's Side Is Blocking Beterbiev Trilogy

One of boxing's most anticipated trilogy fights remains unmade, and the IBA is now publicly expressing frustration about why.

Dmitry Bivol and Artur Beterbiev have produced two of the most compelling fights the heavyweight/" class="internal-link text-bone underline decoration-ash/30 hover:decoration-gold underline-offset-2">light heavyweight division. Beterbiev won the first in October 2024 to become undisputed champion. Bivol won the rematch in February 2025 to reclaim the title. The sport has been waiting for the third fight ever since. Seventeen months later, it has not happened. The IBA, which has made multiple offers to facilitate the bout, says the obstacle is on Bivol's side.

"I'm very disappointed. Everyone is waiting for this fight. I don't know why Bivol and his team are not accepting the offer, but I will do my best to make this fight happen,” Umar Kremlev (IBA president) said

After defeating Beterbiev in the rematch, Bivol vacated his WBC title in April 2025 rather than face mandatory challenger David Benavidez. He then underwent back surgery. He came back in May 2026, defeating IBF mandatory challenger Michael Eifert.

Beterbiev lost the rematch but remains one of the most dangerous fighters the division has ever seen. His knockout rate is unmatched among recent world champions, and the majority decision Bivol earned in February 2025 was close enough that a substantial portion of observers felt it could have gone the other way. The third fight, in that context, carries genuine stakes — not a rubber match between a clear winner and a clear loser, but the final chapter of a series in which neither man has been definitively proven the better fighter.

The WBO has now ordered Bivol to face Callum Smith, the organisation's interim champion and number one contender. That mandatory has a twenty-day negotiating window before purse bid proceedings could be ordered. Bivol's team has indicated he intends to fulfil that obligation rather than relinquish the belt in pursuit of the Beterbiev trilogy — meaning the third fight, if it happens, comes after Smith at the earliest.