Artur Beterbiev has been forced to postpone his undisputed light heavyweight title fight against Dmitry Bivol due to injury.
The two champions, both considered among the best boxers in the world, were scheduled to face each other in a highly anticipated fight on June 1 in Saudi Arabia.
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However, Beterbiev suffered a torn meniscus and now requires knee surgery, pushing the fight back until later this year.
Turki Alalshikh, Chairman of the General Entertainment Authority of Saudi Arabia, said: “After receiving today’s news regarding Beterbiev’s injury, we will postpone the Beterbiev vs. Bivol fight scheduled for June 1 until later this year We wish my brother Artur a speedy recovery However, the 5v5 event is still happening on June 1st.
According to ESPN, Beterbiev is expected to be out of action until September and Bivol could still fight on the June 1 card against a replacement opponent.
The fight was set to headline a card which will see five Matchroom-promoted boxers take on five Queensbury-promoted fighters.
It includes exciting heavyweight contests between Deontay Wilder and Zhilei Zhang, as well as Filip Hrgovic and Daniel Dubois.
But Beterbiev vs. Bivol undoubtedly had to be the highlight for boxing fans who have waited years to see the two undefeated Russians face off.
It was called “the best boxing fight” by many observers.
Beterbiev is the only reigning boxing champion with a 100% knockout rate, while Bivol was named Fighter of the Year after beating legendary fighter Canelo Alvarez in 2022.
The division’s two champions hold all the belts between them, with Beterbiev holding the IBF, WBC and WBO titles and Bivol the WBA crown.
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