Dmitry Bivol-Michael Eifert mandatory title fight ordered by IBF
Dmitry Bivol will have to make another uncomfortable choice.
BS has confirmed that the unified light heavyweight champion was ordered to next face IBF mandatory challenger Michael Eifert. The ruling was handed down on Wednesday, as confirmed by Eifert and promoter SES Boxing.
“Endlich, endlich, endlich (finally, finally, finally),” Eifert said upon receiving the news for his overdue title shot.
The call marks the second time in less than a year that an attempt has been made by the IBF to get Eifert, 13-1 (5 KOs) in the ring for its light heavyweight title. The sanctioning body previously instructed then-undisputed champion Artur Beterbiev, 21-1 (20 KOs), to enter talks with the six-year pro from Magdeburg, Germany.
Beterbiev was just days removed from his majority decision win over Bivol at the time to fully unify the division. Plans were already in place for a rematch, briefly interrupted by the IBF’s order, which was already disclosed to all involved parties before the October 12 undisputed championship in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
An agreement was eventually reached to allow Beterbiev and Bivol, 24-1 (12 KOs) to run it back this past February 22. Bivol won via majority decision to claim the lineal and undisputed 175lb championship.
Before the IBF could re-enter the frame, the WBC stepped in – as the Mexico City-headquartered organization promised it would – to order Bivol to next face interim WBC titlist David Benavidez, 30-0 (24 KOs). The matter was due to head to a purse bid hearing, only for Bivol to vacate the WBC title, which resulted in Benavidez being upgraded to full beltholder.
It is expected that Bivol – who is still the lineal, WBA, IBF and WBO champ - will do the same with the IBF belt. However, that decision is likely contingent on whether his rubber match with Beterbiev is still on course for later this year.
Otherwise, there exists the possibility that Eifert could face a reigning champion for his first title shot.
The 27-year-old contender became the IBF mandatory challenger after a March 2023 win over former lineal champion Jean Pascal. Eifert claimed an upset unanimous decision victory in their title eliminator on the road in Laval, Canada.
In the time during his stay as mandatory challenger, Eifert has witnessed three fights where the IBF belt was at stake. Prior to the two-fight set with Bivol, Beterbiev defended the lineal and unified IBF, WBC and WBO championship in a seventh-round knockout of Callum Smith last January 13 in Quebec City, Canada.
Meanwhile, Eifert has fought just once in that same period - a second-round knockout of Carlos Jimenez last August 24 at home in Magdeburg.
The downtime could likely prove to be a disservice – in addition to his general lack of experience at the top level. However, Eifert took that risk upon the guarantee from the IBF that would be afforded the Bivol-Beterbiev II winner.
Turki Alalshikh, whose Riyadh Season group financed both Bivol-Beterbiev fights, has continued to announce upcoming fights for September, October and November. None have involved Bivol thus far, despite earlier conversations suggesting a rubber match could potentially kick off the 2025 Riyadh Season, which begins in October and runs through next March.
The IBF already granted an exception in a non-title unification scenario when the sanctioning body permitted Beterbiev to face Bivol earlier this year. It is doubtful that Bivol will be afforded such a luxury, since a title unification bout is the one condition that trumps a mandatory title defense.
Should Bivol opt to vacate, Eifert would then face the next highest-rated available contender. Conor Wallace, 16-1 (11 KOs) is currently number two in the IBF 175lbs rankings. The 29-year-old southpaw from Queensland by way of Northern Ireland is coming off an eight-round, unanimous decision win over Dylan Colin on June 8 in Broadbeach, Australia.
