Canelo vs. Bivol II at risk, mandatory challenger confirmed for Russian fighter

The World Boxing Association denied Dmitry Bivol permission to expose his semi-completeweight championship against Joshua Buatsi and the mandatory challenger is the Mexican fighter Gilberto Zurdo Ramirez, with whom he will have to reach an agreement.

"The World Boxing Association (WBA) Championships Committee ratified the mandatory fight between light heavyweight monarch, Dmitry Bivol, and his mandatory challenger, Gilberto Ramirez," the WBA published in a statement on its website on Wednesday.

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Bivol defended his championship in May against Saul Alvarez and asked for permission a few weeks ago to defend it against Buatsi, but the WBA studied the case and denied the permission. Bivol and Ramirez had until this Wednesday to reach an agreement according to the original plan.

"After receiving a request for special permission to fight Joshua Buatsi from the champion and after an extensive study of the same, the body denied said permission, so Bivol and Ramirez will have until this August 10 (as originally planned) to reach an agreement or the fight will go to auction," said the WBA.

Golden Boy rejected Bivol's request

When Bivol's team requested the special permission, Golden Boy Promotions, which represents Zurdo Ramirez, rejected that request "and based its position on the previous resolution (sent that same July 11) that had named him as an official contender".

It will be in the next few days when the representatives of Zurdo Ramirez and Dmitry Bivol must reach an agreement or the fight will go to auction.

Zurdo Ramirez is first in the WBA rankings, where Bivol has been champion since 2017. A professional since 2014, he has not lost a fight and his professional record is 20 wins, with no losses, and of his wins 11 are by knockout.

Is the Canelo-Bivol fight in jeopardy?

With the confirmation of the fight between Bivol and El Zurdo, and if the Mexican wins, the Russian's rematch with Canelo Alvarez would be at risk.

That fight could have been made after their first confrontation, but Canelo had signed a commitment with Gennady Golovkin. Should El Zurdo dethrone Bivol, the fight between the Russian boxer and Canelo could be forgotten.

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