Dmitry Bivol’s promoter, Frank Smith, wants to make the fight with Canelo Alvarez over David Benavidez. Bivol became the Undisputed Light Heavyweight Champion after having defeated Artur Beterbiev via a majority decision in the rematch.

Canelo Alvarez's future takes an unexpected turn as his 2026 opponent is revealed—and it's neither Dmitry Bivol nor David Benavidez. Discover the surprising matchup set for 2026!

“Dmitry Bivol must fight David Benavidez next,” the WBC said in a division-by-division update about all of its titleholders.

Dmitry Bivol vs. Artur Beterbiev 2 was as good, if not better, than their first fight. Let's finish the trilogy now before other big bouts get in the way.

Dmitry Bivol was the last man to defeat Canelo Alvarez. The two men met back in May 2022, with the WBA light heavyweight title on the line, with Canelo heading in as the undisputed super-middleweight champion as he stepped up from 168lbs for the fight.

Dmitry Bivol's résumé is inarguably one of the best in boxing after his revenge win over Artur Beterbiev, but is he the pound-for-pound best of the best?

The 34-year-old Russian avenged his only loss in his high-profile rematch to climb up the top 10. Plus, there's a new No. 1 atop the list.

Canelo Alvarez will be an interested spectator when Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol meet on Saturday. The two light heavyweight stars do battle in a rematch of their epic clash from October, where Beterbiev defeated Bivol by majority decision to add the WBA belt to his WBC, WBO and IBF titles and become undisputed light heavyweight champion.