ARTUR BETERBIEV will fight again in 2025, but it won’t be against Dmitry Bivol.
The former undisputed light-heavyweight champion is set to return to the ring on November 22 against American contender Deon Nicholson.
Beterbiev-Nicholson will take place on The Ring IV: Night of the Champions, as confirmed earlier today by The Ring magazine.
Headlining the Riyadh card at the ANB Arena is David Benavidez’s WBC light-heavyweight title defence against Anthony Yarde. Also featured are WBC welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr against Devin Haney, a three-belt super-flyweight unification between Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez and Fernando Martinez, and a vacant WBO lightweight title bout between Abdullah Mason and Sam Noakes. Beterbiev-Nicholson may be joined by a sixth fight, with WBC super-lightweight champion Subriel Matias expected to defend against his mandatory challenger Dalton Smith.
Beterbiev’s decision to face Nicholson ends speculation that the Canadian-based Russian would face Bivol in a trilogy bout this year. The rivalry between the two currently stands at one win each: Bivol evened the score in February with a points victory, after Beterbiev had taken the first fight by decision last October.
Bivol’s future remains uncertain. His reign as undisputed champion ended when he vacated the WBC belt to avoid a clash with interim titlist David Benavidez. That decision saw ‘The Mexican Monster’ promoted to full champion.
Bivol, now a unified titleholder, must decide whether to fulfil his IBF mandatory obligation against long-time challenger Michael Eifert or relinquish the belt.
A third meeting between Bivol and Beterbiev (21-1, 20 KOs) once seemed inevitable following their second fight. However, the 40-year-old Beterbiev appears to have run out of patience. In July, he uncharacteristically took to Instagram to express his frustration.
“How old do I have to be before we have a third fight?”
“After receiving hundreds of questions about the third battle, I decided to share the situation here,” he wrote, alongside an image of him landing a right hand on Bivol.
“As you may know, the first fight for the title of absolute champion took place in October last year. After five years of attempts on our part to unite the belts, it still happened. The day after the first fight, we agreed on a rematch that was supposed to take place for four months, even though I was still recovering from surgery, and my coach and doctor were absolutely opposed to such an early rematch.
“After the second fight, I immediately showed interest in a third fight soon, and at first there were rumours about the fight in August, but in an interview my opponent said that he wanted to hold it in late fall, then at the end of the year, and now it is unknown when.
“Dima @bivol_d how old do I have to be before we have a third fight?”
Instead of waiting, Beterbiev will turn his attention to Deon Nicholson (22-1, 18 KOs), whose only defeat came in a third-round knockout loss to cruiserweight Efetobor Apochi in April 2021. Nicholson has yet to compete at world level, and this marks a significant step up.
ARTUR BETERBIEV will fight again in 2025 but not against Dmitry Bivol.
The former undisputed light-heavyweight champion returns to the ring on November 22 against American Deon Nicholson.
Beterbiev-Nicholson takes place on ‘The Ring IV: Night of the Champions’ as confirmed by The Ring magazine earlier today.
Headlined by David Benavidez’s WBC light-heavyweight title defence against Anthony Yarde at the ANB Arena in Riyadh, the card also features WBC welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr defending against Devin Haney, a three-belt super-flyweight unification between Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez and Fernando Martinez as well as the vacant WBO lightweight title fight between Abdullah Mason and Sam Noakes. Beterbiev-Nicholson could be joined by a sixth fight featuring WBC super-lightweight champion Subriel Matias and mandatory challenger.
Beterbiev’s decision to face Nicholson ends any speculation that the Canadian-based Russian would face his compatriot Bivol in a trilogy bout this year. Bivol levelled their rivalry at one-win apiece with victory in February with the judges’ scorecards going in his favour. Last October, however, it was Beterbiev who came out on top after the pair went the distance.
Bivol’s future remains uncertain but his reign as undisputed ended when chose to vacate the WBC title sidestepping a clash against interim belt-holder David Benavidez. Bivol’s decision promoted ‘The Mexican Monster’ to full champion status.
The now unified champion must now decide whether to fulfil his IBF mandatory title obligation against long-time challenger Michael Eifert or relinquish the belt.
A third-fight between Bivol and Beterbiev 21-1 (20 KOs) looked certain to take place after their second encounter. It looks as though the former champion’s patience has ran out for the time being. In July the 40-year-old uncharacteristically used Instagram to vent his frustrations at Bivol.
“How old do I have to be before we have a third fight?”
“After receiving hundreds of questions about the third battle, I decided to share the situation here,” he wrote with an image of the former champion landing a right hand on the current undisputed king.
“As you may know, the first fight for the title of absolute champion took place in October last year. After five years of attempts on our part to unite the belts, it still happened. The day after the first fight, we agreed on a rematch that was supposed to take place for four months, even though I was still recovering from surgery, and my coach and doctor were absolutely opposed to such an early rematch.
“After the second fight, I immediately showed interest in a third fight soon, and at first there were rumours about the fight in August, but in an interview my opponent said that he wanted to hold it in late fall, then at the end of the year, and now it is unknown when.
“Dima @bivol_d how old do I have to be before we have a third fight?”
Beterbiev now has the opportunity to take out his frustrations on Nicholson 22-1 (18 KOs) who has lost just once in 23 fights. The 34-year-old, however, is yet to fight at world level. His first step-up ended in a third-round knockout at the hands of cruiserweight Efetobor Apochi in April 2021 who lost to Britain’s Cheavon Clarke 12 months ago.
