Undisputed light heavyweight champion Dmitry Bivol and WBC interim titleholder David Benavidez may be close to finalizing a deal for a fight later this year.
ESPN Knockout’s Julius Julianus reported that the two camps are close to a deal for the fight, which would be targeted for the summer. Bivol, 24-1 (12 KOs), is represented by Matchroom Boxing, while Benavidez, 30-0 (24 KOs), is handled by Premier Boxing Champions and Sampson Lewkowicz.
Lewkowicz told BoxingScene that the news took him by surprise, saying that he sent a “very large offer” on Thursday night to Bivol’s lawyer but says he hasn’t heard back from Bivol’s team.
“Perhaps someone knows better than me, but I’d be very happy if that is the case,” Lewkowicz told BoxingScene on Sunday night.
“Maybe tomorrow I will have a response.”
Lewkowicz said his proposal, which he says was approved by Premier Boxing Champions, proposed for the fight to take place in September, though he says that Bivol’s team was welcome to pick the month that would best suit them, and Benavidez’s team would set the date.
Lewkowicz’s offer came just one day after the World Boxing Council ordered that Bivol make a mandatory defense against Benavidez, who is coming off a dominant victory over David Morrell Jnr last month to solidify his position as interim titleholder and an elite light heavyweight. Bivol is also coming off a significant win last month, defeating Artur Beterbiev by majority decision to avenge his loss in October last year.
Riyadh Season head Turki Alalshikh, who has hosted Bivol’s past four fights in Saudi Arabia, told Ring Magazine on Friday that he was “no longer interested in Bivol-Benavidez” and would not place a bid on the fight. Alalshikh added, “I think Bivol knows who has delivered for him and who hasn’t. My advice to Bivol: Don’t be late because every day something changes.”
Alalshikh had indicated after the Bivol-Beterbiev rematch that he was interested in a rubber match between the two.
Ryan Songalia is a reporter and editor for BoxingScene.com and has written for ESPN, the New York Daily News, Rappler, The Guardian, Vice and The Ring magazine. He holds a Master’s degree in Journalism from the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism and is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at ryansongalia@gmail.com or on Twitter at @ryansongalia.
